An Embarrassment of Riches: Fifteen Years of European Decorative Arts Author(S): Ghenete Zelleke Source: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol

Art Institute of Chicago

An Embarrassment of Riches: Fifteen Years of European Decorative Arts Author(s): Ghenete Zelleke Source: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2, Gift Beyond Measure: The Antiquarian Society and European Decorative Arts, 1987-2002 (2002), pp. 22-89+93-96 Published by: Art Institute of Chicago Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4113042 Accessed: 03-03-2016 20:29 UTC

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This content downloaded from 198.40.29.65 on Thu, 03 Mar 2016 20:29:11 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FIFTEEN YEARS

OF EUROPEAN

DECORATIVE ARTS

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This content downloaded from 198.40.29.65 on Thu, 03 Mar 2016 20:29:11 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Gifts Beyond Measure

Tea Service for Two n the seventeenth century, the introduc-

c. I705

tion into Europe of three exotic, hot drinks

Augsburg, Germany

changed social life and customs in ways that

Matthaus Baur II (German; act. 1681-1728)

are still with us today. The importation of tea

Silver-gilt, cast, embossed and chased,

from China via Portugal and the Netherlands,

and enamels on copper; teapot: h. 14.5 cm

of coffee through the Ottoman Empire, and (5"/i6 in.); tea bowls: h. 5.4 cm (2Y8 in.);

saucers: diam. 14.5 cm (51"/6 in.)

of chocolate from Mexico via Spain provided

Marks: Maker's mark for Matthdius Baur II;

Europeans with nonalcoholic beverages that

city mark for Augsburg; duty mark for Austria

were thought to possess both restorative and

(I806-07)

medicinal properties. These initially rare and

Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society; Pauline

expensive indulgences found their most

Seipp Armstrong and Charles R. and Janice

enduring use as lubricants for social inter-

Feldstein endowments; through prior acquisitions

course. Their popularity also required the

of Mrs. Josephine P. Albright, Mr. I. D. Berg

development of new, specialized forms for

in memory of Alice Kimpton Berg, Estate of

their preparation and consumption. This pre- Maribel G. Blum, Mrs. Elizabeth Peabody

Boulon, Dr. and Mrs. William C. Brown, Bequest cious, almost jewel-like silver-gilt and enam-

of Hans G. Cahen, Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr.,

eled service is among the earliest matching tea

Mrs. Stanley Keith, Mrs. John L. Kellogg, the

sets, and was specially made at a time when

Marion E. Merrill Trust, Mr. and Mrs. Morton G.

this beverage was almost as precious as the

Neumann, Russell Tyson, Mrs. Joseph L.

vessels in which it was served.

Valentine and others, 1999.45.Ia-b, .2a.-b, .3a-b

The earliest European teapots were made

of silver; those that survive include English

examples from the I68os, Dutch vessels from ON P. 22

Detail of cat. no. 29.

the 1690s, and French pieces from the early

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eighteenth century. Matching services for tea, other tea bowl represents the fourth element,

such as the Art Institute's intimate service for air, here personified by Juno and her peacock

two, were first produced in Augsburg, Ger- companion. Supported on clouds, they

many, in the last decade of the seventeenth are accompanied by Iris, the goddess of the

century. Augsburg silversmiths established rainbow.

the slightly flattened, spherical teapot form The imagery around the teapot illustrates

represented here, complete with a figural handle the Judgment of Paris, in which the god

and a spout that emerges from a grotesque face Mercury invited Paris, a shepherd, to declare

and terminates in the head of a bird. This influ- Venus, Minerva, or Juno the most beautiful of

ential design inspired many imitations, espe- the goddesses. Reading clockwise from the

cially in porcelain: first made at Meissen after spout, Paris presents the prize of the Golden

Apple of Discord to the naked goddess of 1710 and in Vienna from the early 1720s, they

were eventually produced by every European love; standing behind her is the helmeted

ceramic manufacturer. Minerva, and further to the left is Juno, held

The Art Institute's service consists of a aloft on a throne of clouds. Paris won Helen

teapot and lid, two tea bowls, and two saucers, as the reward for his choice, setting in motion

each decorated with elaborate enamel painting the events leading to the Trojan War. While

on copper and enframed by silver-gilt mounts, the Trojan theme might at first seem to be lim-

some of which bear the mark of the silversmith ited to the teapot, it actually extends beyond

Matthfius Baur II. The identity of the enamel it, binding the tea service together icono-

painter is unknown, but he was clearly work- graphically. On the "fire" tea bowl, for

ing at the top of his abilities at a time when the instance, Vulcan fashions armor for the Trojan

technology of miniature painting had reached warrior Aeneas, while Jupiter sends bolts of

its apex. Here, the enamel miniatures describe thunder to set the city of Troy aflame.

an allegorical program that marries images of Such mythological or emblematic scenes

the Four Elements--water, earth, fire, and were part of the common visual currency of

air-with the story of Troy's destruction. On the time. Contemporary paintings were fre-

one saucer, visible on the front cover of this quently reproduced in editions of prints,

publication, water is represented by Neptune, which helped spread the latest styles and pro-

who is depicted as a bearded old man with a vided imagery that craftsmen and designers

trident; his young wife, Amphitrite, appears in could use in their own work. For example, on

a cockle-shell chariot drawn by a team of dol- the reverse of the teapot, the enamel painter

phins. The second saucer (upright at left) depicted Apollo riding across the sky in his

describes the Asiatic (and later Roman) god- chariot, and the Three Graces dancing in an

dess Cybele, who was thought to rule over all Arcadian landscape, drawing these scenes

of nature; her attendants bring her the bounty from a series of engravings published in Augs-

of the earth. The element fire appears around burg in 1703 by Johann Andreas Thelott.1

the exterior of one of the tea bowls, on which The scenes on the tea bowls and saucers must

Vulcan, the god of fire and blacksmith to the be based on another, as yet unidentified set

gods, is shown with hammer in hand, forging of prints, since the images on the "air" tea

armor. He is accompanied by his burly assis- bowl and "water" saucer are repeated on a tea

tants, the Cyclopes, who attend the furnace service by Baur now in the collection of the

and aid him in his work. The decoration of the Staatliche Museum, Kassel.2

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2. Spoon 3. Ladle

1685/86 1719/20

London, England London, England

Thomas Cory (d. 1689) William Looker (entered mark 1713)

Silver; 1. 37.2 cm (149/16 in.), w. 7.1 cm (23/16 in.) Silver; 1. 31.1 cm (12/4 in.), w. 7 cm (2"/I6 in.)

Marks: in bowl TC in script (maker's mark, also Marks: in bowl, LO with two pellets above

struck on the handle); lion passant (Sterling (maker's mark, also struck above the rib on the

standard mark for 92.5 percent silver, also struck handle); seated figure of Britannia (for 95.8 per-

on handle); leopard's head crowned (assay mark cent silver); lion's head erased (assay mark for

for London); i (for i685/86) London on Britannia standard silver); D (for

Inscriptions: engraved h on handle 1719/20). Inscriptions: F over FA, engraved on

underside of bowl; M, engraved on front of bowl

Gift of Mrs. Eric Oldberg through the

Gift of Mrs. Eric Oldberg through the Antiquarian Society, 1987.133.1

Antiquarian Society, 1987-133.2

arge serving spoons and ladles such as early eighteenth century as soup, ragout, or

these are relatively rare survivors of forms olive spoons, and were named for the popular

that once must have been quite numerous. The olive stew with beef or veal, one of a growing

large spoon has a wide, elliptical bowl that number of soups and stews featured at dinner.2

was formed from a sheet of silver, and affixed The ladle, meanwhile, was probably used in

to a long, tapered, cylindrical handle terminat- conjunction with a monteith, or punch bowl,

ing in a baluster-shaped finial. It is stamped since the utensil's deep bowl, with its slightly

with the maker's mark for Thomas Cory, who everted lip, is ideally formed for the dripless

may have been a specialist spoon-maker. Cory transport of punch from bowl to cup. William

worked in London, and was apprenticed Looker, the silversmith who made it, served

under the London Goldsmiths' Company in his apprenticeship with Benjamin Bentley

1646; he crafted this spoon shortly before his from 1706 to 1713, and entered his mark as an

death in 1689.' This piece may have been independent craftsman at Goldsmiths Hall,

equally at home in the kitchen or at the dining London, on June 12, 1713.3

table: such utensils were often described in the

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4. Coffee Pot

C. 1715

Meissen, Germany

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

Decoration attributed to Martin Schnell

(c. 1675-c. 1740)

Red stoneware lacquered black, unfired colors

and gilding; h. 20.3 cm (8 in.)

Restricted gifts of Mrs. Marilynn Alsdorf in mem-

ory of her husband, James W. Alsdorf, and Mrs.

DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr.; gifts of Mrs. Edgar J.

Uihlein, Mrs. Herbert A. Vance, Mrs. Morris S.

Weeden, and the James McClintock Snitzler Fund

through the Antiquarian Society, 1995.96

T he European fascination with exotic trade

goods imported from the Far East in the

seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries

cannot be overstated. Commodities such as tea

and spices, and luxury goods such as Chinese

and Japanese porcelain, lacquered furniture

and screens, and painted silks and other tex-

tiles, fed the cravings of traders, wealthy com-

moners, aristocrats, and royalty alike.

Chief among these consumers was

FIGURE I

Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and

Detail of painting under

king of Poland, who spent Saxony's great handle of cat. no. 4.

wealth to satisfy his many obsessions, includ-

ing his considerable appetite for porcelain.

A commonplace material today, porcelain

had held Europeans in its thrall for centuries.

Imported from China, where it had been

made since around the eighth century, porce-

lain was far harder than any European-made

ceramic. Fired at around 1400 degrees Celsius,

it emerged from the kiln brilliantly white and

translucent, and was able to stand up to boil-

ing water-a crucial advantage when making

tea and coffee. Above all, porcelain was espe-

cially beautiful when painted in the blue-and-

white palette characteristic of China's Ming

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Dynasty (1368-1644) and, from the second two fighting cocks (fig. i), a motif that is

half of the seventeenth century, in an increas- echoed on at least two examples of lacquer

ingly rich palette of colors. furniture made under Schnell's direction, and

Augustus enlisted the aid of an alchemist that may ultimately derive from Chinese

by the name of Johann Friedrich B6ttger, who woodblock prints.'

promised to deliver the elector untold wealth This pot's shape is based loosely on that of

by turning base metals into gold. B6ttger's tal- a popular silver form, the four-paneled, pear-

ents were soon, however, redirected to a more shaped coffee pot. Coffee was also associated

attainable goal. Working in concert with with the Turks, through whom it was traded,

Ehrenfried Walther von Tchirnhaus, a Dresden and this pot bears some resemblance in scale

court noble and scientist engaged in experi- and overall shape to traditional Turkish metal

ments to make porcelain, B6ttger developed coffee pots, which Meissen also copied in

two ceramic materials: a high-fired red stone- black-lacquered red stoneware.2 This piece

ware-itself related to the red stoneware possesses an especially elaborate spout. While

imported from China-and a white, hard- on most Meissen pots the spout terminates

paste porcelain (see cat. no. 5). While neither without any sculptural detailing, in this case

material was the gold that B6ttger had hoped its base emerges from the mouth of a fish and

for, porcelain was itself so valuable that it was terminates in the head of an eagle in a design

referred to as "white gold." recalling that of early silver teapots such as

In 1710 Augustus established the first that in the Art Institute's Augsburg service

European porcelain manufactory at Meissen, (cat. no. i).

near Dresden, and remained the firm's princi- The painted decoration is unusually

pal client until his death in 1733. The elector sophisticated, with a palette of colors ranging

continued to be captivated by both porcelain from blue to red to tones of brown. Because

and by red stoneware, which was either these colors were not fired, which would

molded or thrown on a potter's wheel, and have chemically bound them to the glaze,

could be fired to shades of red, brown, and they were prone to wear and often disap-

gray. Such vessels were sometimes cut and pol- peared over time. In contrast to the norm,

ished or, as in the case of this coffee pot, glazed though, the decoration on this pot is espe-

with a lustrous, black ground suggestive of lac- cially well preserved. Different Chinese genre

quer, and then painted with unfired colors and scenes are painted on each panel: on one, for

gilding, using a vocabulary of motifs copied example, a boy sits at a table holding a lyre

from, or inspired by, Asian imports. while his companion squats low over a circu-

The link between lacquered furniture lar seat, fanning the embers of a brazier in an

and lacquered B6ttger stoneware is especially attempt to bring his teapot to a boil. Such

intimate. In the same year that Augustus the vignettes appear almost as stock subjects on

Strong founded Meissen, he appointed Martin tea and coffee pots of the period, and produce

Schnell as his court lacquerer. Schnell also an odd sense of identification in which the

worked at Meissen from I7ii to I7I5, and it is users' own tea- or coffee-making efforts are

not surprising to find that a common artistic mirrored by those of their fantastic Asian

vocabulary informed his work on both furni- counterparts.

ture and Meissen stoneware. This coffee pot

is a case in point: visible under its handle are

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5. Teapot low. These improvements opened up new

1723/24

pictorial possibilities, among the most popu-

Meissen, Germany

lar of which were imaginative chinoiserie

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

scenes that dominated Meissen painting dur-

Painted in the style of Johann Gregorius H6roldt

ing the 1720S and 173os. The Art Institute's (1696-1775)

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels and teapot, made between 1723 and 1724, is a won-

gilding; h. 12.5 cm (47/8 in.)

derful early example of these sophisticated,

Marks: crossed swords (for Meissen) and K. P M.

imaginary visions of Far Eastern life.

(Konigliche Porzellan Manufaktur) in underglaze

H6roldt began his career around I718 at

blue; gilder's mark 6o in gold

the Du Paquier porcelain manufactory in

Gift of Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein through the

Vienna (see cat. nos. 6-8), went to Meissen in

Antiquarian Society, i991.1 a-b

1719, and shortly thereafter began to direct

Meissen's large studio of porcelain painters.

or about the first ten years of its history, In his characteristic style, seen on this teapot,

the Meissen factory produced porcelain H6roldt placed figures on a clearly delineated

that was either left white, painted with unfired foreground that ends low on the horizon, like

colors, or enameled with a limited palette of a stage set; he left the sky white, describing it

fired colors including blue, gold, iron red, and alternatively with clouds or several horizon-

purple. In the early 1720s, however, a revolu- tal, blue striations. The figures themselves are

tion took place at Meissen: thanks to the experi- finely delineated, with small heads and slen-

ments of Johann Gregorius H6roldt, the range der, sinuous bodies. H6roldt's aesthetic

of pigments was broadened to include new became the model for Meissen painters, trans-

shades of blue, brown, green, purple, and yel- mitted by direct example as well as through a

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series of his own chinoiserie drawings.' For

6. Teapot

the most part, these works depict one or two

c. 1725/30

figures who might be engaged in either every- Vienna, Austria

Du Paquier Porcelain Manufactory

day acts-pouring tea from a teapot, for

Hard-paste porcelain, purple enamel; h. 13.7 cm

instance- or imaginary pursuits such as rid-

( 3/8 in.)

ing a flying dragon. Their purpose seems to

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the have been to acquaint Meissen painters with

Eloise W. Martin Fund, in memory of Dorothy

H6roldt's style, rather than to serve as models

Bivans (Mrs. Kenneth R. Bivans), 1987.216a-b

to be copied exactly onto the firm's porcelain.

This teapot, although simplified in shape,

1n 718, eight years after the first European takes its basic form from the slightly flat-

tened, spherical pot first developed in silver porcelain factory had been founded at

around twenty years earlier (see cat. no. i). Meissen, a minor Viennese court official named

It was most likely part of a larger service Claude Innocent Du Paquier was granted

including cups and saucers, and possibly a exclusive, twenty-five year rights to make hard-

sugar box, a tea caddy, and a slop bowl (for paste porcelain in the Hapsburg territories.

used tea leaves). The entire set would have Du Paquier persuaded the Meissen artists

been painted with similar chinoiserie scenes, Christoph Conrad Hunger and Samuel St6lzel

all framed by cartouches that matched in to come away with him and use their knowl-

their colors and decorative details. edge of Meissen's trade secrets to help him

found a rival porcelain manufactory in Vienna.

These runaways did not stay long in Vienna,

however, and Hapsburg imperial privileges did

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7. Gaming Set FIGURE I

Petrus Schenk the Younger

1730/35

(1698-1775). Plate ii from Vienna, Austria

Nieuwe geinventeerde

Du Paquier Porcelain Manufactory

Sineesen (Amsterdam,

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding,

1720/30). I6.5 x 26 cm

gold, and diamonds; h. 8.3 cm (3'/4 in.), w. i6.8 cm

(6 Y/2 x I /4 in). Photo:

(6 5/s in.), d. 14.8 cm (5'3/16 in.)

Kupferstich-Kabinett,

Dresden.

Eloise W. Martin Fund; Richard T. Crane, Jr., and

Mrs. J. Ward Thorne endowments; through prior

gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1993-349

not bring with them imperial subsidies, as was

Four gaming counters: Gift of the Antiquarian the case at Meissen, which was financed by

Society, 1995.95.1-4

Augustus the Strong and his son and succes-

sor Frederick Augustus II. In 1744, after years

of difficulty, Du Paquier sold his struggling

T his sumptuously decorated gaming box concern to the Austrian state, which continued ranks among the most exceptional works

to make porcelain until 1864 (see cat. no. 22). of art produced by the Du Paquier porcelain

Du Paquier's output, which consisted manufactory during its short, twenty-five year

chiefly of tablewares, vases, and other nonfig- history. The large, rectangular box, mounted

ural forms, was painted with an idiosyncrasy that with gold plaques and painted with colored

resists easy classification. In contrast to the enamels and gilding, opens to reveal four

highly controlled, consistent look that Johann small, similarly decorated porcelain contain-

Gregorius H6roldt achieved at Meissen, many ers within. These smaller boxes are mounted

painting styles were in play at Du Paquier. with gold and set with diamonds; each, when

The firm's porcelains give the appearance of opened, reveals two types of porcelain chips

constant experimentation with both form and for use in gambling while at cards, one of the

favorite (and costly) pastimes of the rich. decoration: painted subjects, for example,

range from broadly rendered chinoiserie scenes, The boxes were painted according to a

such as those on this teapot, to the tightly complex, tightly organized decorative scheme.

conceived, artfully balanced, and exquisitely The lid of the large box is painted with three

realized Baroque ornament of the Art Institute's trompe-l'oeil playing cards that appear as if

they have just been carelessly thrown down, Du Paquier gaming set (cat. no. 7).

The decorator of this teapot employed a revealing the King of Diamonds on top; the

soft, purple monochrome, and worked in interior of the lid is embellished in a similar

a style of charming naivete. Here he painted a way. Each of the corners of the box and lid is

Chinese pavilion overlooking a meandering painted with a network of violet-and-gold

river; a fanciful bird flies overhead while two ornament characteristic of Du Paquier's

figures walk on the bank, one carrying a long, mature, late-Baroque style. These motifs

drum-shaped bundle. This scene was adapted include a four-lobed cartouche filled with a

from Nieuwe geinventeerde Sineesen (Newly trelliswork pattern and surrounded by bell-

Invented Chinoiseries) by Petrus Schenk the flowers, laurel branches, stylized fans, and

Younger (fig. i).' Collections of such prints interlaced strapwork. This combination of

were often assembled by manufactories for motifs, referred to as Laub und Bandelwerk

use as source material.2 (branch and ribbon- or strapwork), is perhaps

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8. Oval Tureen the most characteristic element of Austrian

1730/35 Baroque design, and appears not only on Du

Vienna, Austria

Paquier porcelain, but in contemporary Viennese

Du Paquier Porcelain Manufactory

silver, textiles, and architectural stuccowork.

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels,

Each of the box's four interior compart-

silvered and gilt; h. 26.7 cm (o Y2 in.), 1. 41.5 cm

ments holds a container decorated with strap- (16 4 in. ), d. 22.8 cm (85/16 in.)

work and landscape panels similar to those

Gift of Mrs. Kenneth A. Bro, Mrs. Huntington

on the larger box. These small containers are

Eldridge, Mrs. Burton W. Hales, Mrs. Fred A.

inscribed " Ioo Louis" on the lid-referring to Krehbiel, and Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein through the

Louis d'or (gold Louis), a type of contempo- Antiquarian Society, 2000.101

rary coinage. Each box contains porcelain

counters marked in various denominations, This splendid tureen resembles the Art

or with the letter "B." Institute's Du Paquier gaming set (cat.

There is a rich, centuries-old tradition of no. 7) in its general decorative scheme: both the

exchanging diplomatic gifts between nations tureen and the double-domed lid are painted

and ruling families, and it may be within this with cartouches and panels enclosing trellis-

context that the Art Institute's gaming box work patterns, bellflowers, strapwork, and

was conceived. With its liberal use of gold stylized palmettes or fans. This piece, how-

and diamonds, it was certainly among the most ever, incorporates quite a different kind of

sumptuous and costly objects crafted at the sculptural detail. Both sides of the tureen, for

Viennese factory. While the absence of factory example, are adorned with reliefs of flower-

records make it impossible to determine for ing branches that are strung as garlands

whom the box was made or to whom it was between gilded loops, and held in the mouth

given, its more recent history yields some of a grotesque mask. On the lid, small flowers

interesting clues. It was apparently in the State surround a gilded finial in the form of a

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, prior to whiskered, turbaned Turk, who sits cross-

the Russian Revolution,1 and appears to have legged on a blue cushion, holding a large bowl

been sold by the Soviets in the mid-193os, at a of coffee. This figure derives from an engrav-

time when the government was disposing of ing in a i685 treatise on coffee, tea, and

art works in order to generate hard currency.2 chocolate (fig. i).

The Hermitage retains other examples of The tureen is related, in its use of these

gold-mounted Du Paquier porcelain in its particular sculptural motifs, to a group of Du

collection, and it has been suggested that Paquier vessels residing mainly in the State

these, as well as this box, may have been Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. In addi-

diplomatic gifts from the Austrian Hapsburgs tion to two wine-bottle coolers, this ensemble

to their Russian counterparts.3 It is easy to consists largely of covered tureens of circular,

imagine this jewel-like object, precious and octagonal, and oval form. Its history in Russia

impressive in every way, serving as a gesture is documented only as far back as 1857, when a

of political amity between Austria and Russia "Viennese porcelain service colored with gild-

in the 1730s. ing and black coat of arms" appears in an

inventory of the Winter Palace in St. Peters-

burg.' Indeed, the presence of the Russian

imperial coat of arms on many of these pieces

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must indicate that they were made for the

czarina or another high-ranking Russian.

These pieces in the Hermitage date stylisti-

cally to the first part of the 1730s, and may

have been intended as diplomatic gifts from

the Austrian emperor Charles VI (r. I71o-40)

to Czarina Anna Ivanovna (r. 1730-40).

The Art Institute's tureen is said to have

been presented as a diplomatic gift to Prince

Nicola I of Montenegro (r. 1860-1910) by the

Russian royal family.2 Nicola I was politically

and dynastically allied with Russia: two of his

daughters married Russian grand dukes, and a

third was educated in St. Petersburg. The

prince subsequently gave the tureen to the

honorary consul general in Italy who orga-

FIGURE I

nized the lavish engagement celebrations for

Detail of plate opposite

Nicola's daughter Elena at the time of her p. Is in Philippe Sylvestre

Dufour, Traitis nouveaux

marriage in 1896 to Victor Emmanuel III, the

et curieux du caf&, du the

future king of Italy. The tureen descended

et du chocolat (Lyon, 1685).

through that family before being acquired by Photo: Bibliotheque

Nationale de France, Paris. the Art Institute.

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9. Oil and Vinegar Cruet

c. 1737

Meissen, Germany

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

Modeled by Johann Joachim Kindler

(German; 1706-1775)

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding;

h. 21.3 cm (83/8 in.), w. 14.6 cm (53/4 in.), d. 7-3 cm

(2 7/8 in.)

Marks: crossed swords (for Meissen) in under-

glaze blue

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Grober in honor of

Ian Wardropper and Ghenete Zelleke through the

Antiquarian Society, 1998.504a-b

This whimsical oil and vinegar cruet, in

the form of a Chinese figure astride a

rooster, was once part of a splendid table cen-

terpiece made for Count Heinrich von Briihl,

director of Meissen. The cruet complements

several other pieces of the ensemble also in

the Art Institute's collection, including a large

plateau, or stand, modeled in five parts; an

open basket on four scroll legs; and a pair of

sugar casters (fig. I).

FIGURE I

The table centerpiece was conceived as a

Johann Joachim Kindler

unified sculptural ensemble in which fanciful (German; 1706-1775).

Centerpiece and Stand

Chinese couples and giant roosters play the

with Pair of Sugar Casters,

principal decorative and structural roles. The

1737. Hard-paste porcelain

shaped plateau supports the large basket,

with enameling and gild-

ing, gilt-bronze (ormolu) which is formed with both Chinese couples

mounts, with chased and

and roosters with outspread wings; the bas-

engraved decoration; 15.2 x

ket is described in factory records as meant

66 x 5o.8 cm (6x 26 x 20

for lemons, a rare and exotic fruit at that in.). Tureen and stand:

Atlan Ceramic Club, time.' The sugar casters also take the form of

Buckingham Luster, and

Chinese men and women, who embrace served as chief modeler beginning in 1731. In

Decorative Arts Purchase

under a pierced, umbrella-like canopy. The works such as this cruet, we see how he trans-

funds (I958.405). Sugar

ensemble was modeled by Johann Joachim formed tablewares, which had relied heavily casters: Robert Allerton,

R. T. Crane, Jr., Mrs.

Kandler, the most important sculptor to put on painted decoration for visual interest, into

Edward I. Rothschild,

his hand to porcelain in the first half of the ingeniously conceived, fully three-dimensional

Louise D. Smith, and

eighteenth century. Just as Johann Gregorius forms whose sculptural qualities were further

Edward Byron Smith

Charitable funds H6roldt (see cat. no. 5) created a new way of emphasized through painting.

(1984.1228-29).

painting, so too did Kindler revolutionize Such porcelain fantasies for the center of

porcelain sculpture at Meissen, where he the table, as well as larger dinner services com-

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plete with candelabra, plates, tureens, and many

These rare Rococo salt cellars-only one

other serving pieces, were commissioned in other example of this model is known

great quantity by Count von Briihl, who in (Musde National de Cdramique de Sevres)'

-are fine examples of the Rococo wares pro- 1738 was appointed prime minister to Frederick

Augustus III (successor to his father, Augustus duced at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

the Strong, elector of Saxony, king of Poland, during the mid-eighteenth century. Their ori-

and Meissen's founder). In his new capacity, gin is uncertain: they may have been made as

Briihl was able to place orders at the factory independent objects, or, more likely, as part of

without financial responsibility. The sumptu- a larger table service. The two pieces take the

ousness of Briihl's table was remarked upon form of deep shells supported by undulating

in 1739 by Sir Charles Hanbury-Williams, scroll feet and encircled by grotesque, birdlike

British ambassador to the Dresden court, dragons whose long tails taper into barbs.

who, upon seeing the dessert course laid out, The Rococo style seems to have emerged fully

remarked: "I thought it was the most won- formed in the silver and engraved work of the

derful thing I ever beheld. I fancyd myself Turin-born designer and silversmith Juste

either in a Garden or at an Opera. But I could Aurble Meissonnier, whose sumptuous designs

not imagine that I was at dinner."'2 were published in folio form around 1735.2

While the style was soon adopted throughout

Europe, it was received later, and with less

I0. Salt Cellars enthusiasm, at Meissen, where the Baroque

1740/45 aesthetic of Johann Joachim Kdindler (see cat.

Meissen, Germany

no. 9) was the dominating influence.

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

On some occasions Meissen porcelain was

Hard-paste porcelain; h. 7 cm (23/4 in.),

glazed, but left unpainted and ungilded, like

1. 12.1 cm (43/4 in.), d. 7.9 cm (3 V8 in.)

these salts. The other example of this model, Marks: crossed swords in underglaze blue on

underside of each however, is gilded and painted in vibrant

colors, with naturalistic flowers and a purple,

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

brown, and yellow dragon.

Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein Fund, i987.212.1-2

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Figure of the Buddhist

Disciple Gama Sennin

1730/40

St. Cloud, France

St. Cloud Porcelain Manufactory

Soft-paste porcelain; h. 20.3 cm (8 in.)

Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1997-332

n 1997 The Art Institute of Chicago pur-

chased a white-glazed, porcelain figure

of an ascetic seated in a desolate landscape.'

The extraordinary expressive powers of the

figure, modeled entirely in the round, testify

to the substantial sculptural talents of eigh-

teenth-century porcelain artists. Porcelain

was the most important medium by which

Europeans translated Asian religious figures

into sculpture; works such as this confirm

both the power and availability of Eastern

FIGURE I

models to firms such as St. Cloud.

Japanese. Two figures of

Sitting with both legs bent at the knees, Gama Sennin, late seven-

teenth century. Biscuit the figure is emaciated in the extreme. His

porcelain with celadon and

limbs are elongated and almost brittle, and his

iron-brown glazes. Figure

graphically modeled torso reflects depriva-

on left: h. 14.6 cm (5 3/4)

tion-every vertebra and rib is shown in relief, in.). Figure on right: h. 15.3

cm (6 in.). Leon J. Dalva

as if through skin as thin as crepe paper. A sin-

Collection. Photo: Dalva

gle length of cloth encircles his loins, and is

Brothers, Inc., New York.

drawn across his back and over one shoulder.

The hermit's clean-shaven head, too large for

his body, is vividly detailed: his face is frozen

in astonishment, with eyes open wide and When Lui Hai remarked upon the instability

tongue protruding from a gaping mouth. of such a construction, the holy man replied

The key to the hermit's identity is the small that his own situation was no less precarious.

toad seated in his lap. The three-legged toad is Taking the hint, Lui Hai abandoned his posi-

a potent symbol in traditional Chinese systems tion and worldly concerns to pursue spiritual

of belief,2 and is most often associated with perfection.4 In traditional Chinese imagery, Liu

Liu Hai, an important figure in the Taoist pan- Hai is usually depicted as a young man hold-

theon of Immortals? Liu Hai (or Liu Haichan) ing a rope threaded with coins, standing with

was thought to have been a government minis- one foot on the back of a three-legged toad;

ter in tenth-century China. He was visited one he also appears with the toad seated on one of

day by a Taoist holy man who asked him for his shoulders.

ten eggs and ten coins, and then proceeded to Far Eastern figures of ascetics, hermits,

stack the eggs and coins one upon the other. and monks were well known in Europe in the

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12. Winter

late seventeenth and early eighteenth cen-

First modeled c. I75o; this example c. I85o

turies, and it is to Japanese-not Chinese-

Florence, Italy

porcelain versions of such beings that the Art

After a model by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi

Institute's figure owes its inspiration.5 While

(Italian; 1656-74o)

in Chinese lore the Immortal Liu Hai was a

Doccia Porcelain Manufactory

figure of Taoist legend or belief, in Japan he Hard-paste porcelain, modern, gilt-wood frame;

h. 4i.9 cm (I6'/2 in.), w. 57.2 cm (22Y/2 in.), d. 9.5 was called Gama Sennin, and known as a rakan,

cm (33/4 in.)

a personal disciple of the Buddha.' Rakan, who

were admired for their spiritual purity and Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

superhuman gifts, were often portrayed as Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein Fund, 1988.i54

wizened hermits or monks in the wilderness,

with shaved heads and exaggerated earlobes. eginning in 1735, the aristocratic Floren-

Japanese figures of rakan survive to this day tine diplomat and scientist Marchese Carlo

in a number of European collections.7 Ginori began experimenting with different clays

Two Japanese figures in particular, now in an attempt to establish a porcelain manufac-

in a private collection (fig. I), bear striking sim- tory in Tuscany. In Vienna two years later,1

ilarities to the Art Institute's European adap- Ginori retained the technician and kilnmaster

tation.8 Depicted in a posture similar to that Giorgio delle Torri, and the painter Karl

of the Chicago sculpture, their wasted bodies Wendelin Anreiter von Zirnfeld, both of whom

are modeled with prominent ribs and spinal had worked with Claude Innocent Du Paquier

columns, long limbs, and heads with exagger- at his ambitious but underfunded Viennese

ated features-among them bulging eyes; porcelain factory. These two men, along with

large, fleshy ears; and, in the case of the figure the sculptor Gasparo Bruschi and the marchese

to the left, hair prominently knotted on the himself, formed the core personnel of Ginori's

sides of the head. Each of these figures is par- new firm, which he established at Doccia,

tially covered with a celadon glaze, and, tend- northwest of Florence.

ing an iron-brown toad, can be clearly identi- Ginori initiated an ambitious sculptural

fied as Gama Sennin. program at Doccia that capitalized on two of

During the final decades of the seventeenth Florence's greatest legacies: Baroque bronzes and

century and well into the eighteenth, Chinese antique sculptures. In 1742 and 1743, he bought

and Japanese porcelains were among the rare models in wax and terracotta (as well as plas-

and precious objects assembled by collectors ter piece-molds) from the estates of some

at the highest levels of French society. Among of the finest Florentine sculptors, among them

Giovanni Battista Foggini, Giuseppe Pia- these were Louis XIV's brother Philippe,

duke of Orleans, and his son Philippe, whose montini, and Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi.

holdings were distributed between the Palais The Art Institute's elaborate, multifigural por-

Royal in Paris and the chateau of St. Cloud, celain relief is based on a terracotta panel by

which was situated in close proximity to the Soldani-Benzi, the model for one of four bronze

St. Cloud manufactory. The firm's shop in reliefs of the four seasons (1708-a1) that Grand

Paris was also stocked with examples of Prince Ferdinando de' Medici (1663-1713)

Asian porcelain that may have inspired both commissioned as a gift for his brother-in-law

the factory's painters and its sculptors. Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm of Bavaria.

Soldani-Benzi's unusual design depicts the

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visit of Venus and Mars to Vulcan's forge, where and changes in firing and glazing techniques.4

Vulcan makes a shield at right, with his atten- Unlike their precursors, these porcelains are

dants, the Cyclopes, working behind him. Since quite uniform in texture, with a brighter

the Renaissance, Vulcan was also emblematic of white color and few, if any, imperfections. A

winter due to his association with fire. new glaze formula produced a uniformly bril-

Each of the Four Seasons relief panels was liant, almost oily surface that blunts the fine,

extremely challenging to create; for example, sculptural details that the eighteenth-century

one panel representing summer, now in the pieces, with their matte finish, were able to pre-

Cleveland Museum of Art, was cast from twenty- serve. Although unmarked, the Art Institute's

three piece-molds, which were fitted together to panel resembles these nineteenth-century

create the sculpture.2 While it is unclear how examples at Doccia, and must also have been

many panels from the Four Seasons were produced perhaps as much as one hundred

made in the eighteenth century,3 Doccia repro- years after the first porcelain reliefs of the four

duced the series in the nineteenth. Two panels, seasons were realized under Ginori's direction.

Winter and Summer, remain in the collection of

the Richard-Ginori Museo della Manifattura di

Doccia, Sesto Fiorentino, and differ consider-

ably from Doccia's mid-eighteenth-century

wares due to the use of different clay mixtures

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her furrowed brow, upraised eyes, and open

mouth to her clenched hands and awkward

stance, reflect both her physical pain and emo-

tional torment as she witnesses her son's cruci-

fixion. This Madonna proved so potent an

object that the Nymphenburg manufactory

sold it, like Saint John, as an individual figure.

The sculptor responsible for this work

was the Swiss-born Franz Anton Bustelli, who

worked as chief modeler at the Nymphenburg

porcelain manufactory from 1754 until his death

in 1763. The concern was founded in 1747 at

Neudeck, near Munich, under the protection of

Max III Joseph (r. I745-77), elector of Bavaria;

in 1761 it was relocated to Nymphenburg, the

electors' summer palace on the outskirts of

Munich.' The firm's finest years coincided

with Bustelli's tenure, during which he modeled

figures unsurpassed in their formal sophisti-

cation and in their capacity to evoke fleeting,

heightened emotional states. Mourning Madonna

was the sculptor's first important creation for

Nymphenburg, and his expressive rendering of

Mary's garments--captured in that instant in

which a gust of wind appears to blow them

13. Mourning Madonna away from her body, creating sharply fractured

1756/58

folds-is highly characteristic of his oeuvre.

Munich, Germany

While little is known of his early sculp-

Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory

tural training, Bustelli's handling of porcelain

Modeled by Franz Anton Bustelli

has strong visual parallels in the Rococo wood (German, born Switzerland; 1723-1763)

Hard-paste porcelain; h. 30.5 cm (12 in.), w. 17.1 sculpture of southern Germany. In this figure,

cm (6 3/4 in.), d. 12.2 cm (4 3/16 in.)

for instance, the modeling of Mary's garments,

Marks: impressed shield (for Nymphenburg)

especially when seen from behind, suggest the

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the broad chisel-marks of a sculptor skilled in carv-

Mrs. Harold T. Martin Fund, 1986.1oo9

ing wood. What signals Bustelli's greatness,

however, is that the qualities of asymmetry and

ew sculptures are as expressive of anguish abstraction usually associated with the popular

and grief as is this porcelain figure of the Rococo style--qualities that led the next gener-

mourning Madonna, or Mater Dolorosa. The ation to dismiss it-are in his hands not just

work was originally conceived as part of a fashionable choices, but compelling formal

three-piece Crucifixion group, and stood devices used to express deep emotion.

beside the Cross along with Saint John the

Evangelist. Mary's agonized features, from

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14. Bust of Louis, Dauphin

of France

1766

Sevres, France

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

Probably designed by Jean Baptiste Lemoyne II

(French; 1704-1778)

Modeled by Florent Nicolas Perrotin (French;

act. 1761-72, 1775-94) or Jean Baptiste Leclerc

(French; act. 1756-69)

Soft-paste biscuit porcelain; h. 32.5 cm (I2'3/I6 in.)

Marks: incised with cursive B (for Jean Jacques

Bachelier, head of the sculptors' workshop) at

back of base

Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1997.90

S evres was the first French porcelain ven-

ture to receive royal protection. It grew

out of a firm begun in i740 by renegade arti-

sans who had previously worked at Chantilly,

another French porcelain factory. The enter-

prise was originally centered at the chateau of

Vincennes, near Paris; over the next twenty

years, it gradually emerged as less a private con-

cern than a state one, and became the full prop-

erty of Louis XV (r. 1715-74) in 1759. Three years Marie Josephe, were parents to the future

earlier, the factory moved from Vincennes to kings Louis XVI (r. 1774-92), Louis XVIII

new premises at Sevres. The factory's goal in its (r. 1814-24), and Charles X (r. 1824-30). A man

early years, as stated by its organizers, was to of virtuous, devout character, this young prince

produce porcelain "in the Saxon (or Meissen) enjoyed a complex relationship with his father:

style, painted and gilt, with human figures."' while a devoted son, he disapproved of the

Meissen (see cat. nos. 4-5, 9-10) was the most king's amorous alliances with, among others,

successful enterprise of its kind in the first half Madame de Pompadour. Despite their differ-

of the eighteenth century, and inspired the ences, Louis XV was deeply affected by his

French with visions of the profits and prestige son's illness and death from tuberculosis, and

they might gain with a large-scale porcelain may have commissioned this bust from Sevres

manufactory of their own. as a posthumous tribute to him.

This fine, expressive portrait bust depicts Like his father, the dauphin was consid-

Louis, dauphin of France (1729-1765), the only ered handsome, and this sensitively modeled

son of King Louis XV and Marie Lesczinska.2 portrait reflects his elegant appearance. His face

It was modeled in 1766 in memory of the displays all the physical traits of the Bourbons,

the ruling house of which he and his family dauphin, who had died the previous year at

the age of thirty-six. While he never ascended were members: the prince's broad forehead

the French throne himself, he and his wife, gives way to heavy-lidded eyes and a long, gen-

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tly aquiline nose; his small mouth is set against a private apartments at Versailles, the king pur-

long chin and rather soft jawline. He wears a chased eight of these busts, which he may

cuirass, the protective breastplate of a suit of very well have used to decorate his own cham-

armor; a mantle; and an ornamental sash denot- bers or offered as gifts to members of his

ing his membership in the order of Saint Esprit. immediate family.4

The bust was modeled in biscuit, or

unglazed porcelain, which has a matte appear-

ance akin to that of carved, unpolished marble, a i5. Footed Tray

material traditionally used for sculpture? Sevres 1757

Sevres, France

employed prominent sculptors of the day to

Sivres Porcelain Manufactory

make the models of important figures or por-

Soft-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels and

traits, and Jean Baptiste Lemoyne II, the king's

gilding; diam. 23 cm (9 in.)

official court sculptor, most probably designed

Marks: Interlaced Ls (for Sevres); E (for I757)

this one. He went on to create portraits of

Gift of the Antiquarian Society in memory

Louis XV's last mistress, Madame du Barry, and

of Mrs. Edward Byron Smith through the Mrs.

Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI.

Arthur S. Bowes, Mrs. DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr.,

Artisans produced porcelain busts like Mrs. Huntington Eldridge, Mrs. William O.

Hunt, Mr. Edward Byron Smith, Mrs. Howard A. this one in piece-molds; they then unmolded

Stotler, Mrs. John W Taylor III, Mrs. Frank E.

the pieces and assembled them with slip (clay

Voysey, and Mrs. Burke Williamson funds, 1990.83

diluted with water), and finished the job by

refining details and removing mold-marks.

T his footed tray was part of the Savres table At Christmas 1766, in the annual sales display

of new Sevres designs held in Louis XV's service presented by France's King Louis

XV (r. 1715-74) to Empress Maria Theresa of

Austria (r. 1740-80) in 1758.1 This diplomatic

gift was made in recognition of the recent polit-

ical alliance between France and its former

enemy Austria, a pact created to balance the

military and political block formed between

Prussia and England at the beginning of the

Seven Years' War.2 This dinner service, known

as the Green Ribbon Service after the inter-

laced ribbons that form the principal decora-

tive motif on every piece, originally consisted

of I85 pieces, including biscuit figures as well

as painted and gilt tablewares. Forty-eight

pieces today remain in the treasury of the Hof-

burg, the former Hapsburg palace in Vienna.

Each of these twelve-lobed trays was

designed to hold seven small cups of ice cream

or flavored ices, which were consumed in a

semiliquid, rather than solid, state during the

fourth and final course of a formal banquet.

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16. Dessert Plate

discernment was central to the final design.

1778

The plates were newly designed to be entirely

Sevres, France

circular, with deep, flat rims inspired by

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

ancient paterae (disklike forms held by fig-

Soft-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding;

ures in classical temple scenes such as those diam. 26 cm (1o'4 in.)

Marks: interlaced Ls (for Sevres) enclosing AA carved on ancient sarcophogi). This form

(for 1778); Y (for Edme Frangois Bouilliat the contrasts with that of most other Sevres

Elder, painter of the flower garlands); S (for

plates, which possess lobed profiles, and rims

Pierre Antoine Mereaud the Elder, painter

decorated with relief scrolls or garlands.

of the central cipher); C with three commas (for

Each plate-as well as all the other ele-

Philippe Castel, painter of the cameo scenes and

ments of the service except those made of bis-

profiles); and cursive LG (for Etienne Henry Le

Guay the Elder, gilder) cuit-was emblazoned with Catherine's mono-

gram, "E II" (for Ekaterina, the Russian form of

Restricted gifts of Mrs. Dorothy Hale Dunbar,

Catherine), surmounted by the Russian impe-

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Grober, Mr. and Mrs.

rial crown and encircled by branches of laurel Stanford D. Marks, Mrs. Eric Oldberg, Harry A.

Root, Jr., and the Antiquarian Society through and myrtle. The plates were further enriched

bequests of Lena Gilbert, Harriet Jones, Jessie

by a turquoise ground, in imitation of the

Landon, Adelaide Ryerson, and the Margaret C.

semiprecious stone turquoise, which added an

and James D. Vail fund in memory of her

unusual visual richness, in contrast to the pre-

mother, Margaret Arronet Corbin, 1995.256

dominantly white grounds of Sevres plates

produced both before and after this service.

Another noteworthy feature of this service, his striking plate is one of 288 such

T pieces made for an enormous dessert clearly reflecting a revived interest in ancient

service commissioned by the Russian czarina

Catherine the Great (Catherine II, r. I761-96).

The service of eight hundred pieces included

sixty place settings, tea and coffee services, a

biscuit porcelain centerpiece representing the

Arts and the Sciences-an allegorical refer-

ence to the empress's enlightened patronage

-and numerous sculptural groups and archi-

tectural elements, also in biscuit. Its rarity and

cost, plus the innovation of its design and the

distinction of its patron, all combined to make

it one of the most important ensembles pro-

duced at S6vres in the eighteenth century.'

The empress issued the commission in

mid-1776 through her ambassador in Paris,

commanding that it be "in the best and newest

style"-Neoclassicism.2 The service and its

decoration took shape over the course of the

following year as a collaboration between the

manufactory and Catherine, whose aesthetic

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Greek and Roman art and classical literature 17. Table Centerpiece

1754/75

that helped shape the Neoclassical style

Turin, Italy

which emerged in the third quarter of the

Silver, silver-gilt, mirror glass, wood;

eighteenth century, was the use of painted

1. 39 cm (54 3/4 in.), w. 67 cm (262/5 in.)

cameos around the rim of each plate. Three Marks: include crowned arms of the city (Turin)

and initials BP (assay master Bartolomeo profile heads alternate with three multifigural

Pagliani 1754-75); BP within a punched oval;

scenes derived from mythology and from

swan within an oval (French mark after I July

Greek and Roman history. These cameos, for

1893 for silverwork that was auctioned and

which Catherine had a passion and of which

whose provenance could not be determined)

she amassed a large collection, were transfer-

Gift of Mrs. R. Hixon Glore, Mrs. Thomas B.

printed and painted on the service after

Hunter III, Mrs. Jack Arlon Larsh, Mrs. Eric

ancient and more recently carved cameos,

Oldberg, Mrs. Lisbeth Cherniack Stiffel,

most likely those from the French royal col-

Mrs. Herbert A. Vance, and the Louise Brewer

lection.2 The three multifigural, painted

Woods trust; Jessie Spalding Landon and

cameos on this plate depict scenes from Adelaide H. Ryerson bequests; Memorial/

Honorarium fund through the Antiquarian Roman history: an early monarch, King

Society, 2001.112

Nuna, presenting the law to his people; the

Roman soldier Scevola burning his hand

T his silver-mounted, mirrored center-

before the Etruscan conquerer Porsenna; and

piece is a rare reminder of the eighteenth- the Roman general Popilius Laeneas and his

diplomatic adversary, the Seleucid king century fashion for festive table decoration,

Antiochus (reading from the top, clockwise).4 and would have formed the visual climax of

a formal dinner's final course-the dessert. This service was completed by June 1779,

almost exactly three years after it had been The vogue for decorating aristocratic tables

with minature gardens, and even scenes from commissioned, and was sent by ship from

Rouen to St. Petersburg. The great majority contemporary plays and operas, dates to

of the service remains in the collection of the around 1740, when it spread from France

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg,5 with the throughout Europe. The ephemeral delights of

exception of various pieces in private and pub- the dessert table are captured in paintings and

lic collections such as the Art Institute's.6 engravings that show the manner in which

mirrored centerpieces, populated with figures

made from porcelain, sugar paste, or wax, served

as stages on which tiny dramas were set to

amuse diners.' One such image comes from

Le Cannameliste franpais, a confectioner's

guide published in i751 by Joseph Gilliers, who

styled himself "confectioner to the deposed

King of Poland." The print (fig. I) shows a table

adorned with a mirrored, ornamental stand

supporting a small garden complete with for-

mal flower beds, hedges, paths, and a central

fountain. Assorted chinoiserie figures populate

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the landscape, wandering amid "trees" formed the mirrored glass, doubtless made the spectacle

from tall, stemmed vessels filled with fruit of the meal, with its porcelain, silver, and glass

and sweets. accouterments, even more visually scintillating.

Designed in the Rococo style, the Art Insti- Since the centerpiece was made in three

tute's example possesses a rhythmic border parts, users had the option of shortening it for

composed of asymmetrical scrolls, waves, and more intimate gatherings by removing the cen-

clusters of flowers. The silversmith heightened ter section. The silver frame, while giving the

this articulated effect by alternating passages appearance of being solidly cast, was actually

of highly burnished, reflective silver with areas formed from sheets of silver that were each

of silver-gilt that he hammered to a matte fin- hammered and tooled into undulating contours.

ish. Eight gilt candleholders appear at regular Affixed to the sides are two asymmetrically

intervals around the frame; their nozzles are shaped cartouches, or ornamental panels, each

shaped as the heads of stylized flowers, and are surmounted by a crown and supported by a

complemented by the flat drip pans below, pair of lions. Since no coats of arms appear to

designed as circles of leaves radiating outward. have been engraved within the cartouches,

The flickering light of the candles, which however, it is impossible to determine for whom

would have been reflected in both the silver and the centerpiece was originally made.

FIGURE I

Joseph Gilliers (French;

d. 1758). Plate 5 from

Le Cannamelistefranpais

(Nancy, 1751). Photo:

University of Chicago

Library.

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T his of the Arabesquesplendid Service, the third and octagonal plate is a remnant

last table service commissioned from Sevres for

the French king Louis XVI (r. 1774-92), and

produced between 1782 and 1787. For this ser-

vice, the architect Louis Le Masson created new

shapes such as this one, decorating them with

a combination of classical arabesques based

on Roman and Pompeiian themes, and lighter

designs inspired by Raphael's decoration of

the stanze, the four-room apartment of Pope

Julius II in the Vatican. These stylistic borrow-

ings are clearly visible on the Art Institute's

plate: at center, a painted cameo depicts an ath-

lete carrying a baton on a maroon ground, and

is framed by a Greek key border in blue and

gold. Another border of the same kind defines

the exterior and interior edges of the plate's

deep, flat rim. On the rim itself are classical

18. Plate

urns with butterflies perched atop their handles,

1785

surrounded on each side by scrolling foliage

Sevres, France

within which a bird and snake confront each

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

other. In contrast to the heavy Neoclassicism of

the plate from the Catherine the Great service

(French; act. at Sivres 1782-85)

Painted by Jacques Fontaine (cat. no. 16), the decoration here is lighter and

(French; act. 1752-1800)

more playful, reflecting the freer arabesque

Gilded by Louis Franqois L'Ecot

style of the later 1780s.

(French; act. 1761-64, 1772-1800)

The king never took delivery of the service,

Soft-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding;

and it remained at the Sevres manufactory

diam. 25.7 cm (93/4 in.)

until 1795. It was finally presented, on the Marks: interlaced Ls (for Sevres) enclosing hh

(date letters for 1785) in blue; five dots arranged order of the powerful Committee of Public

in the form of a cross (for painter Jacques

Wellbeing (Comit6 de Salut Public), as a

Fontaine) in blue; L (for gilder Louis Francois

diplomatic gift to the Prussian minister Karl

L'Ecot) in gold; incised mark i8

August Freiherr von Hardenberg.' This gift

Gift of the Lester B. Knight Charitable Trust was made in recognition of the Treaty of

through the Antiquarian Society, 2000.102

Basel, which ended the aggressions against

France that Prussia had pursued in concert

with other European states threatened ideo-

logically and militarily by the revolution.

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19. Covered Bowl and Stand

records. In the complexity of its design and the

1784

perfection of its execution, the Art Institute's

French, S vres

covered bowl and stand represent the very

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

best Sevres made in this new style.1

Painted by Nicolas Pierre Pithou the Younger

Porcelain decorated with "Etruscan fig-

(French; act. 1762-67, 1769-95, 1814-18)

Hard-paste porcelain, dark-blue ground, gilding, ures" first appeared at Sevres in 1782 in connec-

and black enamel; bowl and cover: h. 11.5 cm tion with a lavish toilette, or dressing table

(49/i6 in.), bowl: 1. 20.4 cm (8 '/16 in.),

service, offered as a diplomatic gift by Louis XVI

stand: 1. 27.5 cm (lo7/8 in.)

and Marie Antoinette to Maria Feodorovna,

Marks: interlaced Ls (for Sevres); GG (for 1784);

grand duchess of Russia.2 Among the service's

P T. jne (for Nicolas Pierre Pithou the Younger)

more than sixty pieces was a newly designed in black enamel

dcuelle, or covered bowl, described as the

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

ecuelle de la toilette. This bowl and stand, with

following funds: Mrs. Huntington Eldridge,

their bifurcated, angular handles, inspired the Art

Mrs. Rudy L. Ruggles in memory of her husband,

Institute's set, which was made two years later. Antiques Show and Canada Trip, 1993.343

Informed by this model, the Art Institute's

covered bowl and stand are embellished with

n the early 1780s, there emerged at Sevres a rich, Neoclassical ornament partly influenced

distinctive style of Neoclassical decoration in by the work of Henri Salembier. A Parisian

which matte-gold figures, detailed with black ornamental designer and engraver, Salembier is

enamel lines, were silhouetted against solid- known for the many engravings of arabesques

color grounds. This style of figure-painting and floral-scroll friezes, as well as designs for fur-

was referred to as "low relief figures in gold" niture, interior paneling, and metalwork, that he

or "Etruscan figures" in contemporary Sevres produced between 1777 and 1809.

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20. Sauce Tureen on Stand

A suite of prints entitled Cahier de Frises Com-

1781/82

posies et Gravies par Salembier (1770/80)

Vienna, Austria

includes plans for friezes that were used by

Joseph Ignaz Wiirth (act. 177o-after 1803)

the designer of this &cuelle. Some of the dec-

Silver; tureen and cover: h. 14.1 cm (5 9/i6 in.),

oration on the stand, for example, is based 1. 21.6 cm (872 in.), d. 13.3 cm (5'Y4 in.);

entirely on a design by Salembier: the frame stand: 1. 3.55 cm (14 in.), d. 24.7 cm (9 3/4 in.)

Marks: includes IIW (maker's mark for Joseph

for the profile heads on either side consists of

Ignaz Wiirth); 1782/13 (city, date, and standard

two entwined, half-female, half-leafy figures

mark); and early nineteenth-century Viennese

crowned by a wreath of roses and snakes.

control marks

Other Neoclassical images (originating in other,

Restricted gift in memory of Jean Ruggles

as yet unidentified sources) include, at top, a

Romoser, by her mother, Mrs. Rudy L. Ruggles,

female figure holding the Scales of Justice, and,

through the Antiquarian Society, 1998.153a-d

at bottom, an armor-clad woman accompanied

by a lion, emblematic of just governance. While

Sevres records indicate when this &cuelle was oseph Ignaz Wiirth, court goldsmith to the

painted, they do not, unfortunately, suggest Austrian imperial family, was one of the pre-

who might have purchased it.3 One proposal, mier gold and silversmiths in late-eighteenth-

based on the presence of images referring to century Vienna, creating work that is outstand-

justice and governing, is that the piece might ing for its brilliance of invention and excellence

have been specially made to commemorate the of execution. This tureen successfully blends

birth of a European prince.4 the intense naturalism of the Rococo style-

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21. Sugar Bowl evident in the beautifully sculpted radish and

1781 leafy greens that form the finial-with the

Sevres, France

pierced, foliate frieze, fluting, and laurel-leaf bor-

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

ders characteristic of Neoclassical decoration.

Painting of birds attributed to Philippe Castel

The tureen is one of four that Wiirth made (act. 1771-97); painting of pebbled ground

as part of an extensive service for Albert Kasimir, attributed to Pierre Louis Philippe Armand the

duke of Saxe-Teschen, one of the most promi- Younger (act. 1758-81)

Hard-paste porcelain; h. 11 cm (4 5/6 in.), diam.

nent art connoisseurs of his day.' His collec-

10.5 cm (4Y8 in.) tion of Old Master and contemporary prints,

Marks: in purple enamel crossed Ls (for Sevres)

drawings, sketchbooks, and miniatures form

enclosing dd (for i781); below, unattributed

the core of what is now the Albertina Museum, painter's mark of four dots, three elongated

housed in his former Vienna residence. Albert (probably the mark of Philippe Castel); above,

a crown (for hard-paste porcelain); the names of

Kasimir was intimately connected to the courts

the birds are inscribed Pie violete de la Chine

of Europe: he was the son of Friedrich Augustus

and Crapaud-volant varie, de Cayenne

II, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, son-

Gift of Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein through the in-law of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria,

Antiquarian Society, 1992.633 and brother-in-law to Marie Antoinette, the

wife of King Louis XVI of France.

Wiirth worked on the silver service for

which this tureen was made between 1779 and

1782; Albert Kasimir may have commissioned

it when he expected he would assume gover-

norship of the Southern Netherlands. In 1781

he and his wife, Archduchess Marie Christine,

were appointed Governors General in Brussels,

where they remained until the turmoil un-

leashed by the French Revolution forced them

to flee twelve years later. By 1794 they were

back in Vienna, where they eventually estab-

lished the Albertina as a splendid home for

themselves and their art.

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22. Pair of Ice-Cream Coolers

mages of birds have been an important dec-

1804

orative motif at Vincennes and Sevres from

Vienna, Austria

the first years of the manufactory. While its

Imperial Porcelain Manufactory

designers tended to favor imaginary and

Hard-paste porcelain, enamel decoration;

exotic rather than scientifically accurate rep- each: h. 39.8 cm (I0"/i6 in.)

Marks: shield marks (for Imperial Porcelain resentations of avian life until around 1765,

Manufactory) in underglaze blue;

when many of them began to paint scenes

impressed 804 (for 1804); impressed 42

based on colored etchings published by the

English naturalist George Edwards between Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

Lena Turnbull Gilbert Fund, 1993-344.1-2 1743 and I75I.' The birds painted on either

side of this sugar bowl, however, were inspired

T he Viennese porcelain factory belonging by the work of Georges Louis Leclerc, count of

Buffon, one of eighteenth-century France's to Claude Innocent Du Paquier was sold

preeminent natural scientists. While keeper to the Austrian state in 1744, and renamed the

of the Jardin du Roi, the royal zoological Imperial Porcelain Manufactory. It took forty

garden and natural history museum, Buffon years, however-until the appointment of busi-

published his Natural History, General and nessman Conrad von Sorgenthal as director-

Particular (1749-1804), an illustrated work for the firm to rediscover its own stylistic iden-

tity. While Du Paquier distinguished himself by that describes both plants and animals, and

eventually came to encompass forty-four creatively interpreting the Baroque style of the

early eighteenth century, Sorgenthal reinvigor- volumes.2 Ten of these, devoted to birds,

appeared between 177o and 1783, illustrated ated Viennese porcelain design by throwing off

with hand-colored etchings by Franqois the sweet but entirely outdated Rococo style in

Nicolas Martinet. favor of the taste of his time: Neoclassicism.

Sevres designers first borrowed images There is no clearer example of this new

from Buffon's volumes in 1781, and this sugar style than these ice-cream coolers, which were

bowl is among the first wares they decorated inspired by Greek red-figure vases such as

using this new source. It is likely that the bowl the stamnos (wine jar) in the Art Institute's

was decorated en suite with other elements of a collection (fig. I). Ancient Greek pottery

dejeuner, or tea set, which may have included attracted increasing attention from eighteenth-

a teapot, cups and saucers, a cream jug, and a century art connoisseurs and collectors, most

tray.3 In addition to their Buffon-inspired notably William Hamilton, British envoy to the

birds, these pieces shared another, consider- court of Naples. Hamilton's collection was

published, between 1768 and 1776, in a four- ably odder, decorative feature: in the pebbled,

volume, illustrated edition that includes blue-and-gilt background appear grotesque,

birdlike creatures with overgrown heads and many examples of red-figure vases as well as

withered bodies. Probably the creations of bands of ornament derived from them. One

Pierre Louis Philippe Armand the Younger, of the didactic purposes of this extremely influ-

ential publication was to provide models these almost monstrous figures seem designed

to offer a fantastic counterpoint to painter to artists and craftsmen, and so "contribute to

the Advancement of the Arts."' Philippe Castel's naturalistic rendering of

Martinet's birds.

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In decorating the Art Institute's ice-

cream coolers, the Viennese painter did not

copy an entire frieze from one of Hamilton's

engraved plates, but instead chose a number

of figures from different plates and assem-

bled them in rhythmic, friezelike processions.

Although ancient in inspiration, these pieces

were produced using decidedly modern ceramic

technologies. While figures on Greek vases take

their hue from the color of the clay against

the painted, black background, in this case brown

and red glazes cover the white porcelain body

almost entirely, save for parts of the ornamental

FIGURE I borders that were left white. The glazes' glossy

Greek (Attic). Stamnos,

effect, moreover, contrasts with both the matte

c. 450 B.C. Terracotta, red-

surface of the original Greek vessels and the

figure technique; h. 37 cm

published engravings of Hamilton's collection. (4 5/8 in.). The Art

Institute of Chicago, gift

In every way, these coolers present themselves

of P. D. Armour and C. L.

not as deceptive replicas of classical ceramics,

Hutchinson (1889.22).

but as pleasing, creative adaptations of them.2

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stablished in 1751, Worcester remains one

of the most successful English porcelain

firms to this day. In a manner common to Eng-

lish manufacturies, Worcester passed through

different hands as enterpreneurs bought and

sold it, in contrast to the constant state own-

ership (and subsidy) of continental concerns

such as Meissen and Sevres. In 1783, for example,

Worcester was bought by the retailer Thomas

Flight; ten years later Martin Barr became a

partner in the firm, which was then called

Flight and Barr. As different members of the

Flight and Barr families assumed majority

ownership, the name of the manufactory was

changed to Barr, Flight and Barr (1807-13), and

Flight, Barr and Barr (1813-40).

Shells were a popular decorative motif on

English porcelain since the beginning of the

23. Two Dishes

nineteenth century, a fashion that coincided

1807/13

Worcester, England with the period interest in natural history and

Worcester Porcelain Factory

the popular pastime of collecting shells for

Soft-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding;

display in cabinets. These plates, ornamented

h. 4.8 cm (i7/8 in.), w. 18.9 cm

with a gilt border of bellflowers, are each

(7 7/M6 in.), d. 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.)

painted with a circular reserve enclosing a sin-

Marks, all printed in iron red: a circle surround-

gle shell-a volute on the left, a tiger cowrie on

ing a lion and a unicorn on either side of a

crowned shield, at top; ROYAL PORCELAIN the right-set against sprays of seaweed on a

WORKS/WORCESTER / Established i75 ,, shaded, sepia ground. While it is impossible to

below; a crown with three plumes, below this;

identify the hand at work here, several artists

Manufacturers to their MAJESTIES and the

of that moment are known to have painted

PRINCE REGENT/London Warehouse No. I

shells. Among them was Thomas Baxter, an

Coventry Street, around the outside of the circle;

independent porcelain painter who bought

impressed with BFB and crown

undecorated Worcester to paint and fire in his

Gift of Mrs. Richard G. Lydy through the

own workshop. When his business faltered

Antiquarian Society, 1987.353-1-2

around 1814, he joined Flight, Barr and Barr,

training others in the art of shell painting.

Items such as these are representative of

Worcester's mid-priced wares: the use of ground

colors, elaborate gilding, or larger, more com-

plex forms was characteristic of costlier pieces.

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24. Side Chair

1815/20

Vienna, Austria

Made by Danhauser M6belfabrik

Walnut and walnut veneer, modern upholstery;

h. 93 cm (36 5/8 in.), w. 48 cm (187/8 in.), d. 43 cm

(16 7/ in.)

25. Side Chair

c. 1830

Vienna, Austria

Walnut and walnut veneer, modern upholstery;

h. 94.5 cm (37Y/4 in.), w. 69 cm (278s in.), d. 74 cm

(29Y8 in.)

26. Armchair

1820/25

Vienna, Austria

Walnut and walnut veneer, poplar, modern

upholstery; h. 91 cm (357/8 in.), w. 44 cm

(I73/8 in.), d. 54 cm (21Y4 in.)

Gifts of the Antiquarian Society from the

Capital Campaign Fund, 1987.215.4, 2, 3

25 26

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The variety of chair designs in the Bieder-

From brought together 1814monarchs and ministers to 1815, the Congress of Vienna meier period was unprecedented; three chairs

who had earlier fought to contain Napoleon in the Art Institute's collection provide an excel-

Bonaparte's territorial ambitions, and who now lent introduction to this rich visual vocabulary.

aimed to bring stability to their borders and One, a walnut side chair identified as "design

security to their thrones. For their part, Aus- no. 89," was manufactured by the Danhauser

trian statesmen were intent on assuring the firm around 1815/20 (cat no. 24). Its back is the

Austro-Hungarian Empire's internal cohesion embodiment of elegance, suggesting an open

by imposing a repressive, authoritarian regime. fan or a plume of feathers supported by side

Political participation was limited, the press rails in the form of two confronting S-curves.

censored, and dissent suppressed. With few This lyricism was achieved without sacrificing

public outlets for their energies, an increasingly comfort: the chair back fans out just below

affluent bourgeoisie turned their attentions to the sitter's shoulder blades and curves forward

the home. Family virtues were exalted at the for better support. Moreover, the legs are set

highest level, with Emperor Francis I enjoin- sufficiently far apart to hold a seat of ample

ing his subjects: "Preserve unity in the family dimensions. While the chair's upholstery

and regard it as one of the highest goods."' takes comfort into account, it also acts as a

In the homes of Vienna's wealthy, each visual extension of the architecture of the legs

room had a particular function, and was out- and seat rail.

fitted with specialized furniture to fit its purpose. A second chair (cat. no. 25), made about

In smaller houses, this idea was expressed by 1830, is almost skeletal in outline, composed

creating discreet islands of activity within a of voids as much as solids. Exceptionally light-

single room, with each cluster made up of fur- weight, it could have been moved within an

nishings appropriate to such activities as sewing, interior easily, and as the needs of the moment

writing, taking coffee, or making music. Stylis- required. The supple lines of this chair, as in the

tically, the era from the Congress of Vienna to curve of the knee where the front leg merges

the political upheavals of 1848 and 1849 came to with the seat rail, anticipates by twenty years

be known as the "Biedermeier" period, after a the forms that the German furniture-maker and

comic, fictional character who appeared in the designer Michael Thonet would create in bent-

contemporary press as an exemplar of domestic wood.2 Close inspection of the chair back shows

virtues. that it is decorated with a carefully matched and

The most prolific and largest of furniture applied walnut veneer.

suppliers to the Viennese middle and upper Architecture literally underpins the struc-

classes during this period was Josef Ulrich ture of the Art Institute's Biedermeier armchair

Danhauser. In 1814 Danhauser's M6belfabrik, (cat. no. 26). The front legs take the form of

or furniture factory, gained permission to sup- fluted, burl-walnut columns surmounted by

ply all manner of home furnishings, including cushionlike capitals serving as hand rests. These

traditional cabinetwork, glass, metalwork, and elements, combined with the chair's barrel-

textiles used for upholstery and wall coverings. back form, give it the monumentality of a

Danhauser and the city's other furniture-makers throne-a throne devoid of royal or aristo-

emphasized clarity of form, relying on the cratic insignia, and meant for the private rather

inherent beauty of their materials, which than public sphere.

included richly grained woods.

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27. Pair of Side Chairs

Shortly thereafter he commissioned Palagi

1838-40

to redecorate the royal palaces, among them

Turin, Italy

Racconigi Palace, outside Turin. Palagi was

responsible for the design not only of the

(Italian; 1775-1860)

fixed elements of the interiors, such as ceil- Made by Gabrielle Cappello

(known as Moncavalo) (Italian; 1806-1876) ings, doors, floors, and mantles, but also for

Mahogany, veneered with maple and mahogany,

the movable furnishings. These two chairs are

modern reproduction upholstery

from a suite of six side chairs, two armchairs,

1987-179.1: h.ioo cm (39 3/ in.),

and two sofas that Palagi designed for the

w. 53 cm (2o7/8 in.), d. 55.2 cm (213/4 in.)

principal drawing room adjacent to the royal

987. 179.2: h. 99.7 cm (39I4 in.),

bedroom.'

w. 53.3 cm (21 in.), d. 54.6 cm (21/2 in.)

Palagi's intensely personal, late-Neo-

Gifts of the Antiquarian Society through the

classical visual vocabulary is at its most strik-

J. S. Landon, Mrs. Clive Runnells, and Mrs. J. T.

ing in these works. The crest of the chair rail

Pirie funds by exchange; restricted gifts of the

is adorned with a three-dimensional carving Antiquarian Society and the Antiquarian Society

through the Mrs. Arthur S. Bowes Fund, of succulent palmettes and lotuses, which

1987.I79.1-2 contrasts with the two-dimensional friezes

below. These are veneered with bird's-eye

n 1832 Carlo Alberto, king of Sardinia, maple and inlaid with mahogany palmettes

brought the Bolognese architect, designer, and tendrils, and frame both the seat rail and

painter, and collector of antiquities Filippo the top and bottom of the chair back.

Pelagio Palagi to direct the Scuola di Ornato, Palagi enhanced the masculine look of

Turin's newly established academy of design. the suite by using a dark blue-and-white silk

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upholstery, fragments of which had survived 28. Octagonal Library Table

c. 1840 on several pieces.2 The existence of these rem-

London, England

nants, as well as the discovery of a panel of the

Made or retailed by Edward Holmes Baldock

original fabric in the Musde des Tissus, Lyon,

(English; 1777-1845)

made it possible to re-create the set's appear-

Marquetry by Robert Blake

ance when new. The upholstery was rewoven

(English; act. i826-c. 1840)?

by Prelle, the Lyonnaise textile manufacturer Mahogany and pine veneered with ebony,

kingwood, boxwood, mahogany, satinwood, and

responsible for the original fabric, and the

various stained woods, ivory, mother-of-pearl,

boxy, tall profiles of the upholstered seats and

copper, and brass; h. 76.2 cm (30 in.), diam. 148.6

chair backs were also reproduced.3 The fabric's

cm (58Y2 in.)

color contrasts boldly with the marquetry and

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

carving: on the seat is a lyre flanked by swans,

Alsdorf Foundation, 1987.215.I1

and the chair back is decorated with a large

rosette framed by a border of radiating leaves.

wo nineteenth-century obsessions--tech- These motifs, like those carved or inlaid into

the frame of the chairs, are of Neoclassical nological innovation and the resuscitation of

inspiration. historical styles-coalesce in this fancifully

decorated library table. Designed with a rotating

top that permits readers to bring a number of

folios or books into viewing range, the table

seems ideally suited to the needs of the pros-

perous bibliophile who might originally have

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29. Sideboard and used it. One of a small group of richly orna-

mented, closely related pieces made for aristo- Wine Cabinet

1859 cratic patrons, the table was sold (and possibly

London, England

fashioned) by the London firm of Edward

Holmes Baldock.1

Made by Harland & Fisher

Baldock was one of early nineteenth-cen-

Painted by Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake

tury London's most important dealers (or "bro- (English; 1833-1921)

kers," in the parlance of the day).2 A purveyor Pine and mahogany, painted and gilt, iron straps,

metal mounts, marble; h. 126.5 cm (493/4 in.),

of eighteenth-century French furniture and

w. 157 cm (613/4 in.), d. 58 cm (223/4 in.) porcelain to England's king George IV (r.

1820-30) and other distinguished customers, he Restricted gifts of the James McClintock Snitzler

Fund through the Antiquarian Society, Mrs. also owned furniture workshops that made

DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Henry

new pieces and "improved" old ones by incor-

M. Buchbinder, Mr. and Mrs. Stanford D. Marks,

porating both modern and antique elements.

Mrs. Eric Oldberg, Harry A. Root, and the

This library table is representative of the type

Woman's Board in honor of Mrs. Gloria

of useful, decorative, contemporary furniture

Gottlieb; Harry and Maribel G. Blum Foundation,

that Baldock's firm may have either produced Richard T. Crane, Ada Turnbull Hertle, Mr.

and Mrs. Fred A. Krehbiel, Florence L. Notter, itself or commissioned from a specialist furni-

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Varley and European

ture-maker and retailed under its own name.

Decorative Arts purchase endowments; through

The table's large, revolving octagonal top

prior acquisitions of Robert Allerton, the Anti-

is supported on a central pedestal with four

quarian Society, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Alsdorf,

scroll feet. Both feet and pedestal are beauti-

Helen Bibas, Mrs. E. Crane Chadbourne, Mr.

fully veneered in ebony; ribbons and leafy and Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr., the R. T. Crane,

Jr. Memorial Fund, H. M. Gillen, George E branches decorate the feet, while the pedestal

Harding Collection, Mrs. John Hooker, and the

is inlaid with four bouquets framed by car-

Kenilworth Garden Club, 1999.262

touches in the Rococo style. The tabletop itself

is ornamented with eight chinoiserie vignettes,

William Burges was one of the preeminent also framed by Rococo designs, placed at each of

the angles formed by the table's edge. In one of architect-designers responsible for the

these, a Chinese figure blows a fancifully Gothic Revival in the English arts during the

looped horn while a monkey sits on a cush- middle of the nineteenth century. Like the

ion playing a small pipe; in another a cow designer A. W. N. Pugin a generation earlier,

Burges championed the close study of Gothic jumps over the prostrate figure of a bearded

man. These charming scenes are most likely art through both English and continental

based on a still unidentified suite of prints. examples. It was his study of surviving Gothic

The table's impressive floral marquetry may be buildings and furnishings in France that led

the work of the cabinet-inlayer Robert Blake, Burges to create pieces such as the Art Insti-

who would have supplied Baldock's firm with at tute's sideboard and wine cabinet, among his

least the veneers, and perhaps even the tables on earliest documented examples of painted furni-

which they were used.4 ture. The cabinet was first shown in I859 at

London's "Ninth Architectural Exhibition,"

where it was offered for sale at the then large

sum of ?120.1 It reappeared three years later at

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the London "International Exhibition," where FIGURE I

The Medieval Court at the it held pride of place in the so-called Medieval

London International

Court along with other pieces of painted fur-

Exhibition, 1862, with cat.

niture by Burges (see fig. I).2 no. 29 at left. Photo

In designing his cabinet, Burges did more ? The Board of Trustees

of the Victoria & Albert

than simply fit together panels of wood to pro-

Museum, London.

vide flat surfaces for painted ornament: he con-

ceived of the sideboard architecturally. The

complex figural scenes across the front and sides

of the cabinet, and the row of portrait heads

below them, were meant to be viewed as two

stories of stained-glass windows. They were set

within the framework of a Gothic building

whose vertical and horizontal elements were

stenciled with Gothic tracery and arcades, the

whole supported by a rusticated foundation.

The most complex of the painted "stained-

glass windows" are the scenes on the cabinet's

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four principal doors. These were executed by

Nathaniel Westlake, who initialed and dated

two of the panels. Best known as a stained-

glass artist, Westlake took as his subject the

tale of Saint Bacchus as told in the fourteenth-

century French poem "Le Martyre de saint

Baccus," which had appeared in an anthology

of medieval poetry in I839.- In this work, the

anonymous poet contended that feeding the

hungry, healing the sick, and consoling the

unfortunate are not just the stuff of sainthood,

but the work of wine as well. In effect, he

canonized the beverage as "Saint Bacchus," and

proceeded to offer a playful hagiography in

which he lamented the grape's "martyrdom"

in being pressed to a pulp, trampled to death,

and then shut up in a barrel.

In Westlake's painted version of this nar-

rative, he depicted Saint Bacchus dressed in a

pink cloak with green and red stripes, a crown

of grapevines around his head. In the second

scene, the saint offers wine to his companions

who, in the third vignette, push him back-

ward into a cask. The fourth and final panel

shows the martyred Bacchus imprisoned in an 30. Vase (Vase feuille d'eau)

I859/60

oak wine-barrel from which one of his admirers

Sevres, France

draws fine wine-his blood-into a pitcher. In

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

the seven smaller portrait-heads below, West-

Ornament designed by Emile Renard

lake likewise rendered wine with a human face:

(act. 1852-82), 1859

at far left, for example, burgundy is personified Ornament and gilding applied by Bernard Pine

(act. 1854-70), 1859/60

by a crowned, dark-haired prince, while at far

Figures painted by Paul Roussel (act. 1837-72),

right champagne is given the face of a fair-

186o

haired maiden. Lest this hymn to wine become

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gild-

excessive, however, the inside surfaces of the

ing, and gilt-bronze mounts; h. 55 cm (21.6 in.)

two center doors are painted with heads rep- Marks: crowned N; DECORE A SEVRES;

resenting Temperance and Sobriety, which 6o (for 186o); painted reserves signed PM

ROUSSEL. INV & PINX.

reminded the cabinet's owner to moderate his

pleasures even as he pursued them. Restricted gift in memory of Jean Ruggles

Romoser, given by her parents, Mr. and Mrs.

Rudy L. Ruggles, through the Antiquarian

Society, 1993.59

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free herself. Through a trellised doorway, a

Originally tical in form to its mate (fig. i), now in one of a pair, this vase is iden- cloaked cherub holds the mask of an old man

the Cleveland Museum of Art. The principal to his face with one hand, and a dog on a leash

face of each piece is decorated with a figurative with the other. On the vase's reverse side,

painting derived from an unknown mytho- Roussel depicted two recumbent female fig-

logical or allegorial source: the theme of the ures and a cherub.2

Art Institute's vase is described in Sevres fac- The vases were sent to London for dis-

tory records as "temptation," that of Cleve- play in the "International Exhibition" of 1862,

one of the many nineteenth-century fairs at land as "oracle."' The vase itself was named,

according to Sevres records, Vasefeuille d'eau, which European countries showed the finest

or "water-leaf vase." of their contemporary art and industrial prod-

In February 1859, the pair of blank vases ucts. In describing the Sevres in the exhibit, the

was given to the gilder Bernard Pine, who, catalogue noted that "the best artists of France

following draftsman E?mile Renard's design, are employed at S6vres, and maintain its

executed the attenuated, scrolling tendrils and supremacy over all other 'Works' for the pro-

bold fan-and-ribbon ornament in a strong duction of Ceramic Art."3 In August 1863,

palette of blue, pink, and turquoise enamel. Napoleon III (r. 1852-70) presented the pair to

In May of the following year, the pieces were the widow of Fdlix Barthe, a top-ranking civil

received by the painter Paul Roussel, who servant who had been a senator and a first

decorated them in a monochromatic palette president of the Cour des Comptes (Court of

of reddish brown, with white and pale-green Auditors).4

highlights. Roussel did his work with skill,

creating classically inspired figures arranged in

a friezelike procession. Chicago's vase shows, 31. Drawing-Room Cabinet

from right to left, a woman who sits with a 1871/72

England

distaff in one hand, spinning, and a cloaked

man who grasps a female figure struggling to

(English; 1831-188I)

Made by Gillow and Company

FIGURE I Walnut, burl-walnut, ebony, boxwood, thuya,

Sevres, France. Vase (Vase and other woods, gilding, lacquered brass

feuille d'eau), 1859-60.

mounts; h. 148.6 cm (582 in.), w. 166.3 cm

Savres Porcelain

(65? in.), d. 52 cm (20oY in.)

Manufactory. Hard-paste

porcelain, polychrome Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1992.632

enamels, gilding, and gilt-

bronze mounts; h. 55 cm

(21.6 in.). The Cleveland

Museum of Art, Severance This drawing-room cabinet was con-

and Greta Millikin ceived by Bruce James Talbert, a prolific

Purchase Fund.

designer who created furniture of a self-con-

sciously artistic nature, drawing inspiration

from such widely divergent sources as Gothic

architecture and Japanese art. Like many of

his colleagues in the second half of the nine-

teenth century, Talbert often wrestled with the

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issue of how fine design and craftsmanship architects and designers. Talbert advocated

could be fostered in the face of increasing indus- honesty in construction, and designed many

trialization and mechanization.' He simplified pieces that possess both a strongly rectilinear

and popularized the Gothic style first advocated form and a refined sense of detail. For exam-

by A. W. N. Pugin earlier in the century, and ple, the carved Gothic elements around the

offered his designs to furniture manufacturers perimeter of this sideboard provide the struc-

such as the renowned Gillow and Company of ture for delicate marquetry panels depicting

Lancaster. Founded around 1727, Gillow's abstract, geometrical designs and Japanese-

eventually became one of the preeminent firms inspired vases of flowers.

of cabinetmakers in England. In the nineteenth The cabinet was made for Sir James A.

century, the company undertook complete Ramsden, a railroad magnate who regularly

schemes of interior decoration and employed ordered furniture from Gillow between 1858

leading architects, among them Talbert, to and 1879.2 Ramsden commissioned the piece

design furniture in the latest taste. for use in his Gothic-revival mansion, Abbots

Talbert's work also received wide public Wood, in the northern English county of

exposure through its regular presence at the Cumbria.3 The work itself bears witness to

international expositions so popular during Ramsden's ownership: its central, arched crest

the nineteenth century. Either this cabinet or a contains a shield carved with the monogram

related one was shown in the "London Exhi- "JAR," while below it, inlaid ebony letters spell

bition" of 1871, alongside the work of other out "ABBOTSWOOD" within squares of maple.

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was one of many British entrepreneurs who

recognized the need to improve the quality of

their products. In I858 he hired the German-

born Charles Ferdinand Hiirten, an artist

noted for his outstanding paintings of flowers

on porcelain. Trained at the Municipal School

of Art, Cologne, Hiirten worked subsequently

at S6vres.

The exceptional quality of Hiirten's art set

him apart from his English contemporaries;

unique among his colleagues at Copeland, he

had his own studio and the freedom to paint

unsupervised. He was also allowed to sign his

name to his work, and received a generous

annual salary instead of being paid piece by

piece, as was the custom. Copeland's faith in

Hiirten's abilities was not misplaced: in 1863

his firm received a commission from Edward,

prince of Wales, who requested an extensive

dessert and tea service to mark his marriage to

32. Dessert Plate the Danish princess Alexandra. Hiirten under-

1878

took the job, and three years later Copeland

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

was awarded a royal warrant as china and glass

W. T. Copeland & Sons

manufacturer to the prince of Wales.

Painted by Charles Ferdinand Hiirten

This octagonal dessert plate is painted

(German; [I818-9oil], act. at Copeland 1859-97)

Bone china, polychrome enamels, gilding; with an intensely naturalistic scene of water-

diam. 25 cm (9 7/s in.)

lilies, and is representative of Hiirten's work

Marks: on underside printed mark of interlaced

at its finest. The painting is framed with a

Cs; COPELAND below; impressed M/78

broad octagonal rim, richly gilt and pierced

(for March 1878); Hiirten signature on reserve

in a fretwork pattern inspired by Chinese and

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

Japanese designs. The European appetite for

Mrs. Robert E. Straus and Mrs. George B.

the exotic had reawakened in the middle of the

Young funds, 1988.245

nineteenth century, when Japan's borders were

reopened to trade, and the trickle of imported

Held in London's Hyde Park in i85I, the goods swelled to a torrent. In hands less skilled,

"Great Exhibition of the Works of the combination of the waterlilies' naturalism

Industry of All Nations" was a wake-up call with the rich abstraction of the fretwork bor-

to many British manufacturers of the applied der might have resulted in a jarring dissonance;

arts. The wares of English porcelain and pot- in Hiirten's hands, they are harmoniously

resolved. tery firms, in particular, were found wanting

when compared to those exhibited by the

large, state-subsidized manufactories of

Meissen and S6vres. William Taylor Copeland

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33. Work Table

c. 1880

Paris, France

Made for Maison Giroux under the direction of

Rosalie Duvinage (act. 1877-82)

Rosewood, ivory, gilt bronze, brass,

and pewter; h. 71 cm (28 in.), w. 68.5 cm (27 in.),

1. 40.6 cm (16 in.)

Marks: stamped MAISON ALPH GIROUX

PARIS on interior rim; incised and inked with

interlaced initials FD (for Ferdinand Duvinage),

followed by Bte (for brevete, or "patented")

in lower-right corner of table top

Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1996.77

CC osaic," the innovative marquetry

technique displayed on this work

table, was patented in 1877 by Rosalie Duvinage,

the owner of Maison Giroux, a Paris firm that

had produced a wide assortment of luxury

goods for generations.' In this process, pieces of

ivory were held fast within a matrix of engraved

metal strips, giving the appearance of a field of

cracked ice. Into this groundwork, different

woods were inlaid to create complex patterns.

This piece shows the costly technique at its

most sophisticated. Here the ivory ground is

broken up by a network of engraved brass and

pewter that forms the branches and leaves of

flowering tree peonies, within which rest a

large pheasant; both plants and bird are ren-

dered with different wood inlays in an almost

painterly fashion (see fig. i). The shallow sides

of the table are veneered in a pattern of maple

leaves that incorporates a peony within a

shaped frame.

The decorative vocabulary of this table, and

of other items veneered in this technique, was

inspired by a renewed interest in the artistic and made their own. Here, the artists of Maison FIGURE I

Detail of "mosaic" commercial goods coming from the Far East, Giroux managed to deploy them with sensi-

table top.

tivity: according to custom, tree peonies rep- particularly Japan, in the second half of the

nineteenth century (see cat. no. 32). These flo- resent the male principal yang, or masculine

virility; the golden pheasant, a traditional sym- ral and faunal motifs, while Chinese in origin,

had long been absorbed by the Japanese and bol of female beauty, is a natural complement.

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In 875 the French sculptor Albert Carrier-

Belleuse became artistic director of the

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. While he is

best known for his insightful portrait busts and

revivalist works in the Rococo style,1 Carrier-

Belleuse was also knowledgable about porce-

lain; in the early I85os, before establishing him-

self as a sculptor, he was chief designer at the

Minton pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, England.

During his tenure at Sevres, where he worked

until his death in 1887, Carrier-Belleuse created

a wide range of new porcelain shapes, among

them this monumental vase, designed in 1881

and named for Arezzo, a Tuscan center of cer-

amics production from ancient times.2 Like

many of the new forms introduced by Carrier-

Belleuse, this vase, with its fluid contours and

smooth surfaces, offered porcelain painters a

vast canvas on which to work.

Under Carrier-Belleuse, Sevres was the

scene of technological advances as well as for-

mal ones. In the early i88os, the factory's arti-

sans developed a new kind of porcelain that

could be fired at temperatures less than 14100

Celsius, which was typical for hard-paste

porcelain. The main reason for this innova-

tion was aesthetic: lower firing temperatures

permitted a wider range of enamel colors and

34. Vase (Vase d'Arezzo) glazes to withstand the firing process. The

1884-85

new hard-paste porcelain, called pate nou-

Sevres, France

velle, had a firing temperature of around I2800

Sevres Porcelain Manufactory

Celsius, and was used to make the vase now

Form designed by Albert Ernest Carrier-

in the Art Institute.3

Belleuse (French; 1824-1887)

Painted by Henri Lucien Lambert The Vase d'Arezzo was decorated by Henri

(French; 1836-1909)

Lucien Lambert, a painter who specialized in

Hard-paste porcelain, enamel decoration, and

flowers. Lambert's work here is striking for

gilding; gilt-bronze mounts; h. 85 cm (33 Y2 in.)

the natural way in which he represented the

Marks: S.84 within a cartouche in blue;

four profuse, vibrantly colored sprays of bell

RF/DECORE A SEVRES/85 within a twice-

heather and gorse that emerge from stylized

outlined circle in iron red; monogram HL

(for Henri Lucien Lambert) acanthus clusters. The fully saturated yellow

of the gorse is set against the rich pink of the

Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1991.313

heather, which Lambert also enhanced with

shades of muted pink in order to create the

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impression of three-dimensional space. This

T he arc of Christopher Dresser's life coin-

fully European naturalist impulse, however, cides almost exactly with the reign of

was balanced by Lambert's attraction to Asian Queen Victoria (1837-1901), a period in which

aesthetics. The artist was, like many of his Britain's empire expanded, trade and manu-

time, caught up in the mania for things facture prospered, and a growing population

Japanese.4 Sometimes referred to asJfaponisme, concentrated itself increasingly in urban cen-

this cult developed in Europe and America ters. In many ways, Dresser exemplified the

after the opening of Japan to the West in the Victorian ideal: born into an expanding mid-

dle class, he became, through his own ambi- i85os, and was fed for decades by the import

of Japanese goods. tion and vision, the first industrial designer.

Here Lambert supplied a hint of exoticism His unlimited curiosity allowed him to appreci-

through color: on the vase's neck, the yellow ate what he saw, divine its potential, and use it

ground is densely mottled with fluffy, gradu- to transform the shape of the decorative arts.

ally diminishing white forms that suggest the Dresser provided designs for a broader range of

pale, hanging flowers of wisteria, a common industries than did any of his contemporaries,

motif in Japanese art. Butterflies flutter across and in so doing exercized a wide influence over

the surface of the vase, lending it a distinctly the appearance of everyday objects such as

Asian air, not unlike the Japanese-inspired ceramics, glass, metalwork, silver, and textiles.

butterfly monogram used by the American Supplying designs to long-established

expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler. The ceramics firms such as Minton and Wedgwood,

insects were painted in a technique known as Dresser also worked with enthusiastic new

pate-sur-p te, developed at Sevres in 1849. In entrepreneurs such as the Yorkshire brick man-

this method, the artist created a relief by paint- ufacturer John Harrison. In 1879 Harrison pro-

ing layer upon layer of slip, or liquid clay, onto posed opening an art pottery that, with Dresser

the unfired porcelain body; he allowed each as creative director, would use as its raw mate-

layer of slip to dry before applying the next, rials the same local clays that had been employed

working to achieve the raised profile he desired. for brickmaking. Until 1882 Dresser provided

The piece was then fired and decorated in the the Linthorpe Art Pottery with designs for an

usual manner with enamel colors or gilding. enormous range of vessels, including bottles,

jugs, vases, and tea and coffee wares, drawing

from contemporary European styles as well

Jug as from Celtic, Chinese, Japanese, and Pre-

c. I88o

Columbian influences. The Art Institute's jug,

Middlesborogh, Yorkshire, England

broadly inspired by Pre-Columbian ceramics, is

conical in shape, with a compact base balanced

(Scottish; 1834-1904)

by the seamless profile of the spout and handle;

Made by Linthorpe Art Pottery

the body's arc is echoed in the line of the spout,

Lead-glazed earthenware; h. 19.4 cm

which flows directly into the looped handle. (7 5/8 in.), diam. 14 cm (5 2 in.)

Marks: LINTHORPE/HT and facsimile

Decoration is spare: before the jug was glazed

signature Chr Dresser above model number 341,

and fired to produce its luminous, dark-brown

impressed on underside of jug

surface, it was incised with a bull's-eye pattern

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the below the spout, and with horizontal lines below

Alsdorf Foundation, I987.214

the handle, giving it the look of a barrel.

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Arthur 1851, the Heygate seminal year in which the Mackmurdo was born in

"Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of

All Nations" was held in London, housed

within the magnificent glass and iron pavilion

known as the Crystal Palace. This exhibition

made explicit the power that had accrued to

Britain through her ever-expanding empire,

unrivaled material wealth, and technological

and manufacturing preeminence. The exhibi-

tion also spurred a vigorous debate that would

continue for decades, and that concerned the

means by which the aesthetic discrimination of

the British public might be improved. At issue

were the shoddiness of contemporary design

and the moral effects of ill-conceived, industri-

ally manufactured goods both on individuals

and society as a whole. Among the most vocal

and influential thinkers for whom design

reform was a moral imperative were John

Ruskin and William Morris.

Dresser's designs for Linthorpe were man- Mackmurdo first trained as an architect,

ufactured in large numbers, and enjoyed enor- setting up his own practice in London in 1875.1

mous popularity due to their combination of In 1882 he established the Century Guild, a

practicality and affordability. His work is a cooperative whose aim was "to render all

testament to the possibility of realizing good

design at a low cost, a principle often espoused

by progressive designers from the Arts and

Crafts Movement to the Bauhaus, but too

rarely achieved.

36. Side Table

c. 1888

London, England

(English; 1851-1942)

FIGURE I

Made by the Century Guild

Arthur Heygate

Cuban mahogany, gilt brass; h. 74.9 cm (2972

Mackmurdo. Title page of

in.), w. 83.8 cm (33 in.), d. 5o.8 cm (20 in.) Wren's City Churches

(Kent, 1883). Ryerson

Through prior acquisitions of Mrs. Josephine P.

Library, The Art Institute

Albright and the Antiquarian Society, 2002.13 of Chicago.

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branches of art the sphere no longer of the The Art Institute's Mackmurdo side table

tradesman but of the artist ... [and] restore also gives the impression of vitality confined.

building, decoration, glass-painting, pottery, Reminiscent of a Japanese temple gate in its

wood carving and metal to their right place overall shape, it is carved with undulating

beside painting and sculpture."2 The guild's greenery on the front and sides of the frieze;

mouthpiece was its magazine, The Hobby tall, multileaved flowers along the legs; and a

Horse, inaugurated in 1884 and published inter- series of interlocking arcades, possibly of

mittently into the 189os. In 1883 Mackmurdo ginko leaves, on the stretchers between the

legs. In these carved decorations, as on the wrote a book entitled Wren's City Churches,

for which he also designed the title page (fig. i). title page of Wren's City Churches, Mackmurdo

Bold in his use of black on white, Mackmurdo seems to have anticipated the lyrical spirit of

drew several identical, long-stemmed flowers Art Nouveau, a style that was to sweep the

swept to and fro in an upward, swirling motion European continent at the turn of the twentieth

as if by a gust of wind. He contained this pow- century.

erful motion between two elongated peacocks,

who stand in partial profile, like sentries, on

either side. Compressed within the frame of the

page, the flowers appear as though they might,

in an instant, suddenly spring beyond its confines.

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37. Box in the Form of an Egg The Faberge firm was founded by Gustav

Before 1899

Faberge in 1842, and achieved its international

St. Petersburg, Russia

reputation under his son Peter Carl Faberge,

Made by the Faberge Workshop, possibly by

who became director in 1872. In I885 he was

Michael Perchin (Russian; i860-1903)

granted permission to style himself "Supplier to

Moss agate, gold, enamel, diamonds, rubies; h. 5

cm (2 in.), w. 8.3 cm (3 4 in.), d. 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.) the Imperial Household." It was at this time that

Marks: FABERGE (in Cyrillic), 56 (for 14k

the workshop made its first imperial Easter egg,

gold), two crossed anchors intersected vertically

a gift from Czar Alexander III (r. 1881-94) to his

by a scepter (for the St. Petersburg assay prior to

wife, Maria Fedorovna, who received a Faberge

1899), on lower gold rim

egg from her husband every Easter until his

Gift of Mrs. Burton W. Hales through the

death. When Nicholas II (r. 1895-1917) assumed

Antiquarian Society in memory of Miss Grace

the Russian throne, he continued his father's

M. Merchant, 1986.1358

Easter custom of giving elaborately jeweled,

intricately wrought Faberge eggs at Easter,

T he egg, a universal symbol of rebirth, has presenting one to his mother, now the dowa-

enjoyed a long iconographic association ger empress, and one to his wife, Alexandra.

with Easter, embodying the message of new This tradition continued through Easter 1916,

life and hope attendant on Christ's resurrection. and inspired the production of fifty imperial

Indeed, the practice of making gifts of eggs at eggs in all.

Easter has a rich tradition that continues in Faberge also fashioned smaller, less elabo-

many cultures to this day. The most exquis- rate eggs such as this one, now in the Art Insti-

ite Easter eggs ever conceived were those made tute's collection. Made from moss agate carved

for the Russian imperial family by the Faberge to a transparent thinness, the egg is split from

workshop. top to bottom and mounted with gold rims,

the upper featuring a design of foliate swags

and rosettes, its lower counterpart struck with

Faberge marks. Within the egg, nestled snugly

into a fitted pad of burgundy velvet, rests a small

flask. Made for perfume, this flattened, spheri-

cal container is crafted of gold, with a surface of

radiating, machine-engraved patterns covered

by a transparent layer of pale-pink enamel.

The flask is further embellished with an

imperial Russian crown placed above the

monogram "M," which is set with a rose-cut

diamond and both faceted and cabochon

rubies. This crowned monogram suggests that

the egg was made for a member of the imperial

family, a small treasure that could have been

kept for private use or presented as a gift on

Easter or another important occasion.

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38. Coffee Pot experiment in communal living and individual

1900/01

creative expression.

London, England

The Art Institute's decanter (cat. no. 39) is

a classic Guild of Handicraft product, and the

Made by the Guild of Handicraft

earliest of the several versions known.' Ashbee's Silver, ivory, and chrysoprase; h. I5.7 cm (6 3/i6

in.), diam. I7.9 cm (7Yi6 in.) idea for this design evolved slowly. In 1893 the

Marks: G ofHLtd (for Guild of Handicraft);

site of the Magpie and Stump, an old London

lion passant; leopard's head; date letter E (for

pub, was being cleared in preparation for a

1900/01)

house Ashbee planned to build for his mother.

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the Fragments of green glass from broken wine

Eloise W. Martin Fund, in honor of Edith Bruce,

bottles were discovered amid the rubble, and

1987-354.

Ashbee kept them, believing them to be

Elizabethan in date. Indeed, he wrote that "it

39. Decanter

was doubtless bottles of that shape, good solid

1901/02

glass, from which Falstaff and his worthies London, England

Made by the Guild of Handicraft Four years later, glassmakers James Powell

Glass by James Powell and Sons

and Sons re-created the bottle form; Ashbee

Silver, glass, and cork; h. 20.3 cm (8 in.)

took the Powell glass, mounted the neck with

Marks: G of HL td (for Guild of Handicraft) on

two silver collars, and sent a network of silver

the stopper and upper collar; assay mark for

wires from the upper collar to a silver mount 1901/02

affixed to the hips of the bottle, thereby creat-

Gift of Mrs. James W. Alsdorf through the

ing a handle for the decanter. A second group

Antiquarian Society, 1998.154

of silver cordons cradles the bottle's belly. The

openwork handle of silver wires woven loosely

together evokes the wirework pommels of A rchitect, designer, and socialist, Charles

Robert Ashbee believed, like John Ruskin

sixteenth-century Iberian swords, perhaps

and William Morris, that many social ills suggesting another source of inspiration for

resulted from the unchecked growth of indus- Ashbee's creative imagination. Ashbee pub-

trialization, and from the machine's disruption lished a design for a closely related decanter,

of workers' creative relationship to the prod- now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lon-

ucts of their labor. Such reformers reasoned that don, in I909.3

only by restoring this intimate bond could The coffee pot (cat. no. 38) is expressive

society be improved and the individual fulfilled. of another side of Ashbee's work in silver.

Almost unique among his contemporaries, Conical in form, it is almost devoid of deco-

Ashbee not only trusted in the restorative power ration, relying instead on the subtle articula-

of creative manual work, but put his beliefs into tion of the silver surfaces, achieved by hand

practice by founding the Guild and School of hammering. The designer restricted the orna-

Handicraft, which provided working-class men

ment, in the form of a running vine in relief,

and boys with an education in the crafts of met- to the pot's foot and the perimeter of its lid.

alworking and furniture-making. Located in The ivory handle is not just a luxurious addi-

the East End of London and later in the Cots- tion, but also served a practical purpose, as it

wolds, the guild constituted a twenty-year cannot conduct heat. The use of the green,

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semiprecious stone chrysoprase for the finial

was a feature much favored by Ashbee, and

appears in other examples of his work.4 Thanks

to the ivory, the chrysoprase, and a signifi-

cantly greater quantity of silver, this piece

must have been considerably more costly than

the decanter. Unlike the decanter, of which

several versions exist, the coffee pot appears to

be unique.

40. Chest for Photographs

1902

Vienna, Austria

Made by W. Miller

Palisander and maple veneers, white metal inlays

and other metal fittings; h. 55.9 cm (22 in.),

w. 52.8 cm (2o 0'3/6 in.), d. 37.1 cm (14 5/8 in.)

Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society;

restricted gifts through the Antiquarian Society of

Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, Mrs. Walter Alexander,

Mrs. P. Kelley Armour, Mrs. DeWitt W

Buchanan, Jr., Mrs. Henry M. Buchbinder, Mrs.

George M. Covington, Dr. Edwin J. DeCosta, Mr.

and Mrs. Robert O. Delaney, Mr. and Mrs.

Gordon R. Ewing, Marshall Field, Mrs. Robert

Hixon Glore, Mrs. Fred A. Krehbiel, Dr. Kenneth

J. Maier, Mrs. Harold T. Martin, Mrs. Brooks

McCormick, Dr. and Mrs. Charles E Nadler, Mrs.

John K. Notz, Jr., Mrs. Eric Oldberg, Mrs. James

C. Pritchard, Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein, Mrs. Morris

S. Weeden, and Mrs. George B. Young; restricted

gifts of John H. Bryan and David P. Earle III; in

honor of Lynn Springer Roberts, Eloise W.

Martin Curator of European Decorative Arts and

Sculpture and Classical Art, 1981-89, 1992.93

In 1897 Josef Hoffmann, like many other

Viennese artists and designers, answered

painter Gustav Klimt's call to form a new exhi-

bition society known as the Secession. This

cadre of young rebels rejected the academic,

conservative aspirations of the Kiinstlerhaus

exhibition society and sought to breathe new

energy into Vienna's artistic life. The Secession's

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motto, "To the age its art, to art its freedom," is Ashbee (see cat. nos. 38-39) and Charles Rennie

a succinct expression of its members' intent to Mackintosh, for example, at their 900oo exhibi-

escape the tradition-bound historical revival- tion. Hoffmann designed many of the earliest

ism of much nineteenth-century art. In their interiors for the Secession shows; this chest

exhibitions and through their own work, the for photographs was included in the society's

Secessionists emphasized the combined use installation for the 1902 "Exhibition of Art

of fine and decorative arts to achieve a Gesamt- and Industry" held at the he Palais des

kunstwerk, or total work of art, a result that Beaux-Arts, Diisseldorf. In his first attempts

they thought could be best realized under the at furniture design, Hoffmann adopted the

direction of a single architect or designer. curvilinear outlines of Art Nouveau, but

In addition to displaying their own crea- soon abandoned these for the more rigid sym-

tions, the society also brought the latest in con- metries of British Arts and Crafts works. This

temporary European art and design to Vienna, richly ornamented chest of drawers encapsu-

exhibiting furniture and metalwork by C. R. lates Hoffmann's synthetic approach, in which

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FIGURE I

created a more sophisticated surface by apply-

Josef Hoffmann.

ing palisander and maple veneers, the deep, Model room featuring, at

left, a chest for pho-

richly toned browns of the former contrasting

tographs similar to cat.

with the latter's honeyed hue. In his refine-

no. 40. Published in

ment of form and ingenious use of wood

Innen-Dekoration 3

(1902), p. I45. Photo: veneers, Hoffmann followed the elegant tradi-

Ryerson Library, The Art

tion established almost one hundred years

Institute of Chicago.

earlier by the Viennese furniture-makers of

the Biedermeier period (see cat. nos. 24-26).

41. Coffee Service

1901/02

Vienna, Austria

Made by Josef B6ck Porcelain Manufactory

Hard-paste porcelain with stenciled

decoration in blue enamel; teapot with lid: h.

he combined solid British Arts and Crafts I7.1 cm (6 3/4 in.), w. 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.), d. 13.2 cm

forms with ornament inspired by the sinuous (5 3/6 in.); sugar bowl with lid: h. 11.3 cm (47/i6

in.), diam. 10.5 cm (4/Y8 in.); creamer: h. 8.6 cm

patterns and abstractions of Art Nouveau.

(33/8 in.), w. 10.5 cm (4Y8 in.), d. 8.3 cm (3 4 in.);

Although no longer turning toward Art

tea cup: h. 5.5 cm (2 3/6 in.), w. io.6 cm (4 3/6 in.),

Nouveau for furniture forms, Hoffmann con-

d. 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.); saucer: diam. 16 cm (6 5/16 in.)

tinued to experiment with this aesthetic in his Marks: SCHULE PROE KOLO MOSER

stencil work for architectural projects, explor- stamped in green, D 5oz c (significance

unknown) in blue, on underside of teapot, sugar

ing stylized plant forms, wavelike patterns, and

bowl, creamer, tea cup, and saucer

attenuated, abstracted lines. He also used curva-

ceous patterns for inlay within more rectilinear Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

1986 New York Trip Fund, 1986.1092-96 furniture designs, as in the drawer fronts of the

Art Institute's chest. By including an inlaid bor-

utta Sika designed this coffee service under der of squares, Hoffmann emphasized the rigid,

geometric quality of each drawer front, at once the tutelage of Koloman Moser while she

accentuating and controlling the fluid, billow- was a student at Vienna's Kunstgewerbeschule

ing forms of the white-metal inlays. (School of Applied Arts). Moser was a gifted

Hoffman conceived of this piece as a work painter and designer who, like Josef Hoffmann

of architecture in miniature: four gently tapered, (see cat. nos. 40, 45), had been a founding mem-

square-sectioned columns support a flat, ber of the Vienna Secession; with Hoffmann, he

projecting roof. The chest's shape was in- established the Wiener Werkstditte, an arts and

spired by English furniture- especially the crafts society inspired by Robert Ashbee's Guild

designs of C. R. Ashbee and C. E A. Voysey of Handicraft (see cat. nos. 38-39). Moser taught

at the Kunstgewerbeschule from 1899 until his -in the manner in which the drawers are sus-

pended between the freestanding pillars and death in 1918, and a number of his designs, as

the overhanging roof. But rather than working well as those of his pupils, were produced by

contemporary ceramic and glass manufacturers. in oak or walnut, as did the English, Hoffman

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and at the 1925 "Exposition internationale des The school itself was founded in 1867,

and conceived as a complement to the Museum arts d6coratifs et industriels modernes" in

fiir Kunst und Industrie (now the Osterre- Paris.'

ichisches Museum ftir angewandte Kunst), The pieces in the Art Institute's service,

which was established three years earlier on with their simplified volumes, are distinguished

the model of London's South Kensington by Sika's use of thin, almost finlike appen-

Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). dages, each pierced with a circle to form handles

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the or lids. The enamel decoration seems entirely

school had emerged as a training ground for original, owing nothing to historical precedent:

progressive designers, while the museum each component is boldly stenciled with a pat-

offered a collection of historical applied arts tern of overlapping circles that both echoes and

for study, as well as a venue for annual exhibi- extends the circular motif of the handle and lid

tions of contemporary arts and crafts. Enrolled cut-outs, giving the impression of stylized

waves, or of bubbles rising from below. at the Kunstgewerbeschule from 1897 to 1902,

Sika studied ceramics and benefited from the

synergy of school and museum. Her designs,

realized by the Viennese manufacturer Josef

B6ck, were exhibited at the museum's 1902,

1903, and 1909 winter exhibitions; at the St.

Louis "Louisiana Purchase Exposition" of 1904;

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42. Demitasse and Saucer

1901/02

Weiden, Bavaria, Germany

Made by Bauscher Brothers

Hard-paste porcelain, underglaze blue decora- eter Behrens began his career as a painter,

tion; demitasse: h. 6 cm (27/16 in.), diam. 8.i cm but by the late i89os had begun to shift

(33/16 in.); saucer: diam. 13.6 cm (53/8 in.) his activities toward architecture and indus-

Marks: monogram PB (for Peter Behrens)

trial design. In 1899, for example, he was one of

within rectangle, above GESCHUTZT

seven artists invited by Ernst Ludwig, grand

(patented) on underside of cup and saucer

duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, to establish a col-

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

ony in Darmstadt. There Behrens encountered

Mrs. Huntington Eldridge, Mrs. R. Michael

the work of British Arts and Crafts designers

Gately, Nancy C. Gorman, Mrs. Robert E. Straus,

Charles Robert Ashbee (see cat. nos. 38-39) and

and Mrs. Benton J. Willner funds, 1988.246

M. H. Baillie Scott, who had recently redeco-

rated the duke's sitting and dining rooms in

43. Pitcher

the Neues Palais. Inspired by the stylistic

c. 1904

H6hr-Grenzhausen, Germany unity of these interiors, Behrens undertook

the design of his own home, including its inte-

Made by Westerwald Art Pottery

rior furnishings. In 901o this residence, as well

Glazed stoneware; h. 26.5 cm (Io '2 in.)

as those of his Darmstadt contemporaries,

Marks: WESTERWALD/ARTPOTTERYin

was opened to the public to much acclaim.'

rectangular cartouche, monogram PB (for Peter

One year later, Behrens was one of twelve Behrens) within rectangle, model number 2 zo2

impressed on underside of pitcher progressive artists to design model rooms for an

exhibition of modern interiors at the prominent

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

Wertheim department store in Berlin. This dis-

Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein Fund, 1991.314

play was meant to "provide the possibility for

spectators at every level of education to experi-

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ence the simple unity of these model ensembles,

to see the practicality of the furnishings, and to

purchase such furniture at moderate prices."2

A contemporary photograph of Behrens's

installation shows an interior unified both in

form and ornament: gridlike arrangements of

squares, rectangles, and lines gave volume to

the chandelier and pattern to the carpet and

the stenciled decoration around the upper

reaches of the walls, while simple plank con-

struction characterized the ebonized sideboard,

dining table, and chairs.' On the sideboard,

Behrens placed a porcelain coffee service of

his own conception; commercially produced,

the set included demitasse cups and saucers of

the same design as those in the Art Institute's

collection (cat. no. 42). In keeping with the 44. Plate

1904/o05

dining room's overall geometric theme, the

Meissen, Germany

cups and saucers are hexagonal in form, and

Designed (1903/04) by Henry van de Velde

are ornamented with stenciled patterns of

(Belgian; 1863-1957)

lines and squares in underglaze blue. Made by Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

In a related gesture of creativity, Behrens Hard-paste porcelain, underglaze blue

decoration; diam. 26 cm (074 in.)

also helped breathe new life into Germany's

Marks: crossed swords (for Meissen) and 71. in

centuries-old stoneware industry, located in

underglaze blue; impressed 56 and monogram

the Westerwald region of the Rhineland. Pot-

(for Henry van de Velde) within rectangle

teries had existed there since the Middle Ages,

Gift of the Antiquarian Society, 1988.34 but with invention of porcelain in Europe at the

beginning of the eighteenth century-and

n late 1902, Meissen, the venerable porce- with every sort of ceramic widely available and

affordable by the late nineteenth--makers of lain manufactury founded in Dresden in

stoneware had long since abandoned innova- 1710, commissioned the architect, designer,

tion. In order to recapture a share of the con- and painter Henry van de Velde to create

temporary market, some of these potteries a dinner service in the newest style. Although a

turned to designers such as Behrens and Henry seasoned practitioner of the Art Nouveau aes-

van de Velde (see cat. no. 44) to reinvigorate their thetic,' van de Velde had never worked in

product lines. While the Behrens pitcher in the porcelain, and spent seventeen weeks with a

Art Institute exists within a long tradition of Meissen technician learning how the medium

German stoneware vessels for beer, it commu- might best serve his artistic vision. By the au-

tumn of 1904, the service, available in gold or nicates a singular, clear sense of modernity:

strongly angular lines and abstract, almost blue, was ready for sale.

Van de Velde often incorporated an elon- skeletal incised patterns are accentuated by

the vivid contrast of cobalt blue, a traditional gated, zigzag motif into his work in metal and

wood; whether incised or rendered in relief, its glaze, with an innovative forest green.

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sharp angles create a dynamic sense of com- 45. Tea and Coffee Service

1922

pressed tension. This plate, now in the Art

Vienna, Austria

Institute, shows that van de Velde reused this

motif to powerful effect in his porcelain

Made by the Wiener Werkstditte

design for Meissen: the whiplash pattern is

Silver and ivory; tray: h. 3.2 cm (14 in.),

molded in shallow relief on the plate's wide rim, w. 39 cm (I5 3/8 in.), d. 34-3 cm (13/2 in.);

tea pot: h. 11.2 cm (43/8 in.), w. 26 cm (io'4 in.), and enhanced with underglaze blue. Despite

d. 14.7 cm (53/4 in.); coffee pot: h. i1.6 cm

van de Velde's fresh design, his service was

(6 78 in.), w. 20.3 cm (8 in.), d. 9.9 cm (37/s in.);

not a financial success. In addition to prefer-

creamer: h. 5.6 cm (23/8 in.), w. I7.I cm (6 3/4 in.),

ring reproductions of Meissen's eighteenth-

d. 9.6 cm (33/4 in.); sugar tongs: h. 2.2 cm (7/8 in.),

century wares, the firm's clientele favored a

w. 13.2cm (53/8 in.), d. 3.2cm (14 in.)

less aggressively modern look. Marks: on the underside of each piece, 9oo

(Vienna silver mark, valid from 1922),

WIENER/WERK/STATTE, monogram JH

(for Josef Hoffmann)

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through

the Eloise W. Martin Fund, in memory of

Mrs. Alfred Collins, 1987.213.1-6

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In 1903 Josef Hoffmann and Koloman reveal an essential characteristic of Hoffmann's,

Moser (see cat. no. 41) founded the Wiener and indeed of Vienna's, aesthetic preferences: the

Werkstitte (Viennese Workshop), a collabora- enduring importance of elegance in design.

tive society of craftspeople whose aim was "to

produce good and simple articles of everyday

use."' Influenced by such English workshops 46. Corner Cabinet

c. 1916 as the Guild of Handicraft, established in 1888

Paris, France by Charles Robert Ashbee (see cat. nos. 38-39),

the Wiener Werkstditte was a natural outgrowth

(French; 1879-1933)

of the Vienna Secession, and was similarly

Possibly made by Haentges-Freres

devoted to originally designed, affordably pro-

Amboyna, ebony, and ivory veneer on oak and

duced objects. While the Werkstitte adopted mahogany carcass; replacement silvered

escutcheon plate; h. 127.3 cm (JoY8 in.), the principles of hand craftsmanship so force-

w. 82.9 cm (32 /8 in.), d. 52 cm (20 Y2 in.) fully advocated by nineteenth-century English

Marks: Ruhlmann impressed on left-corner panel

aestheticians and designers such as John Ruskin

Restricted gift of Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, Mrs. and William Morris, its members embraced the

T. Stanton Armour, Mrs. DeWitt W Buchanan, Jr.,

idea of machine production as a means to dis-

Mrs. Henry M. Buchbinder, Mrs. Robert O.

seminate their progressive designs to a wide

Delaney, Mrs. Harold T. Martin, Manfred

public. While these aims were certainly noble,

Steinfeld, Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein, Mrs. T. Stanton

with few exceptions -the most successful being

Armour, Mr. and Mrs. Robert O. Delaney, Mr.

designs produced for the bentwood-furniture and Mrs. Fred Krehbiel and Mrs. Eric Oldberg

funds; Mrs. Pauline S. Armstrong, Harry industry-the Werkstditte's products ended up

and Maribel G. Blum, Richard T. Crane, Jr.

appealing not to a critical mass of consumers, but

memorial, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Krehbiel, Mary

to members of Vienna's avant-garde, bourgeois,

Waller Langhorne, and European Decorative

and intellectual communities, who demanded

Arts endowments; through prior acquisitions of

furnishings of luxury and sophistication.

the Antiquarian Society, European Decorative

First produced in 1916, the Art Institute's Arts purchase fund, Howard Van Doren Shaw,

and Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson, 1997.694 tea and coffee service epitomizes the elegance,

beauty, and quality of the objects that Werkstitte

members created for this upscale market. T his sumptuously veneered corner cabinet

by the French designer Jacques Emile Each piece in the set is composed of broad,

vertical flutes with shimmering, hand-ham- Ruhlmann represents what is arguably the

mered surfaces. The use of heat-resistant apex of Art Deco furniture-making. Its mon-

ivory on the twice-curved handles is at once umental form rests on short, fluted legs that are

practical, elegant, and luxurious. Foliate finials shod in ivory on the two front feet, and that ter-

add an ornamental flourish consistent with minate at the knees in a flourish of ivory sand-

Viennese taste of the 19ios, which favored wiched between veneers of amboyna, a rare

more and more decorative effects. Indonesian hardwood. Ruhlmann employed

In comparison to the severe, architec- ebony and ivory to depict a large, fluted urn

from which cascade an abundance of stylized tonic form of Hoffmann's 1902 chest for pho-

flowers and leaves, overflowing the limits of tographs (cat. no. 40), this tea service would

seem almost to verge on the Rococo. Yet both their container to form a large, black-and-

white oval against the amber tones of a burl- objects, while made fourteen years apart,

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papering; and the supply of mirrors, glass,

and other interior fittings. But Ruhlmann was

ambitious, and in 1913 established a sideline

business as a furniture-maker and ensemblier, a

professional who orchestrates complete inte-

riors in work akin to, but more comprehensive

than, that of an interior decorator. Ruhlmann

employed an atelier of architects and designers

to perfect his many sketches for furniture and

interiors, which were initially executed by estab-

lished craftsmen in the Faubourg St. Antoine,

the district of Paris in which cabinetmakers had

their workshops. Ruhlmann was able to use his

income from his family's original firm to sup-

port the high cost of his luxury-furnishings

business, and by I919 was able to devote him-

self fully to his work as an ensemblier.

Ruhlmann is widely considered to have

been the greatest exponent of Art Deco (also

known as Art Moderne). This design term, used

since the I96os to refer broadly to the high-

style interiors of the interwar years-that is,

the 19Ios through the early 1930s--was derived

from the title of the 1925 Paris "Exposition

internationale des arts d6coratifs et industriels

modernes." Like that of many premier Art

Deco designers, Ruhlmann's success was

amboyna background. In none of his sub- based on his skillful use of exotic and costly

sequent furniture did the designer make such materials; his emphasis on exquisite crafts-

lavish use of ebony and ivory; nor were his manship; and his mastery of inventive design

decorative schemes so vividly pictorial. The in the traditions of eighteenth-century French

three-sided cabinet, made to fit into the corner cabinetmaking. His fame also sprang, how-

of a room, was a centuries-old form popular ever, from his innate understanding of the

among eighteenth-century cabinet-makers wishes of his wealthy clients for high fashion

such as Jean Henri Riesener.1 Ruhlmann's and conspicuous consumption. Of his work

adaptation of this model became his signature and clientele, Ruhlmann once remarked: "Only

design from its first appearance in 1916 the very rich can pay for what is new and they

through the middle of the 1920s, and remains alone can make it fashionable. Along with satis-

so to this day.2 fying a desire for change, fashion's real purpose

Ruhlmann did not begin his career as a is to display wealth."'

cabinet-maker. Upon his father's death in 1907,

he took over a family firm that had grown to

encompass gilding; interior wall painting; wall-

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47. Two Side Chairs their intrinsic decorative quality and some-

c. 1925

times combining them with inlay and other

Paris, France

forms of ornament. He also used nontradi-

L6on Albert Jallot (French; 1874-1967)

tional materials including mirrored glass,

Walnut, burl walnut, shagreen; each: h. 85.6 cm

lacquer, and chromed steel, some of which

(34'/4 in.), w. 41 cm (163/8 in.), d. 45 cm (18 in.)

Marks on both chairs: MADE IN FRANCE on were newly developed for wartime use.

the underside of back seat rails; L. JALLOT

These side chairs, made around 1925, are

stamped on underside of front seat rail

fine examples of how Jallot's elegant, mini-

malist aesthetic combined with the period Gift of Mrs. Robert Adams Carr in memory of

her husband, Robert Adams Carr, through the taste for exotic materials. Like Jacques Emile

Antiquarian Society, 1994.813.1-2

Ruhlmann's corner cabinet (cat. no. 46), Jallot's

chairs were inspired by traditional French

A man of fifty-one when he designed furniture forms-in this case, by early-nin-

these spare chairs, L0on Albert Jallot teenth-century chairs with saber legs and gently

began his career as a furniture-maker in 1899 curved back rests. Jallot updated the form by

at Siegfried Bing's Paris emporium La Maison slimming the legs, seat, and chair back.

de L'Art Nouveau, which lent its name to the Jallot's choice of upholstery is striking:

flamboyant, sensual style that emerged instead of elaborate textiles or leather, he chose

around the turn of the twentieth century. In shagreen. Often referred to as sharkskin, sha-

the years following World War I, Jallot's green is actually the skin of a tropical fish such

as a dogfish or ray. Instead of scales, it consists work became leaner and more severe in form,

but retained its characteristically rich surface of nodules, which are often filed flat to disclose

effects. The designer skillfully exploited the its dense, cellular pattern. Shagreen-covered

nature of various woods, choosing them for objects were introduced to Europe in the sev-

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enteenth century from China and Japan; in the 48. Sugar Caster

c. 1925

eighteenth century, the material was typically

Paris, France

used on small, personal items such as snuff-

Boucheron

boxes and sewing kits. Often stained green,

Silver and niello; h. 23 cm (9 in.)

shagreen provided a durable, attractively

French marks: BR & Cie (for Boucheron,

mottled surface, and found renewed favor in Radius and Company); incised BOUCHERON

PARIS; stamped head of Minerva in profile to the first quarter of the twentieth century for its

the right within an octagonal shield (for French

exotic texture.

silver standard). English marks: import mark for

These chairs were purchased from the 1925

foreign plate entering England; L within a

Paris "Exposition internationale des arts ddcorat-

cartouche (for 1926); 925 within oval cartouche

ifs et industriels modernes." Jallot's work (for English silver standard)

was well represented at the exhibition, appearing

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the

in lavish installations such as Ruhlmann's "Pavi-

Mr. and Mrs. Morris S. Weeden Fund and the

lion of a Collector," and in more modest dis-

Antiquarian Society General Funds, 1991.315

plays sponsored by Parisian department stores.

Founded in Paris in I858, the celebrated

jeweler Boucheron remains in business

to this day. With branches in several European

cities by the first decade of the twentieth cen-

tury, the firm made not just jewelry, but also

luxurious works of art for the table.

In contrast to the Art Institute's center-

piece by Jean Despres (cat. no. 5o), which

derives its composition from the interplay of

geometric forms, the stylistic impulse underlying

this sugar caster is rooted in a love of ornament

and richly worked surfaces similar to that of

Jacques Emile Ruhlmann's corner cabinet (cat.

no. 46). The designer of this piece used patterns

of piercing, relief work, and niello to transform

it into a stylized fountain in which blasts of

water shoot upward from the center of a tall, cir-

cular basin and, in falling back down, cascade

over the basin's edges. The latter effect was

achieved with areas of silver and blue-gray niello.

In this technique, the metal surface is engraved

or etched, and the excised area is then filled with

a powdered mixture of silver, copper, lead, and

sulfur. The niello and silver are then exposed to

heat, causing them to fuse; afterward, the sur-

faces are polished until the darkened areas are

flush with the surrounding silver.

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49. Cocktail Shaker

1926

Copenhagen, Denmark

Georg Jensen Solvsmedie

Silver; h. 23.5 cm (9/4 in.)

Danish marks: GEORG JENSEN within a

crowned oval; 925 S within a rectangle (for silver

standard); 462 (for registered number of design);

three towers above 26 (Danish control mark);

1926 within an oval (for 1926); monogram

CFH (for Copenhagen assay master C. E Heive).

English marks: 925 within oval (for silver

standard); L within cartouche (for 1926); GS

within a rectangle (for assayer); import mark

for foreign silver

Gift of Mrs. Eric Oldberg through the

Antiquarian Society, 1991.305

The name Georg Jensen is synonymous

with modern Danish silver. After appren-

ticing as a goldsmith and pursuing studies in

sculpture and ceramics, Jensen (1866-1935)

entered the Copenhagen workshop of silver-

smith Mogens Ballin, and opened his own ate- The silver cocktail shaker is one of the

lier in 1904. One year later, he made his first most potent icons of 1920S culture, embody-

pieces of hollow ware, a spare tea and coffee ing the freedoms and pleasures of the decade

service comprised of somewhat squat forms in which prosperous Europeans and Americans

with undulating profiles.' Jensen's work sub- threw off the horrors of World War I and chal-

sequently grew more curvaceous, however, lenged the conservative mores of the previous

and he began to enliven its surfaces in a num- generation. Men's and women's clothing became

ber of ways. He used hammer-mark patterns, less restrictive, dancing more fast-paced and

for example, to produce a warm, mottled sheen, erotically charged, and smoking and drinking

and also ornamented his creations with heavy, more socially acceptable.3 It was in this milieu

three-dimensional clusters of stylized acorns, that the cocktail shaker came into vogue, and

berries, flowers, grapes, or seed pods. Jensen, like other silversmiths of the day, cre-

Unlike Charles Robert Ashbee (see cat. ated his own variations on the form.

nos. 38-39), Jensen was not averse to machine With its gently hammered surface and

manufacture, and in 1918 he built his own fac- stylized foliate finial, the Art Institute's cocktail

tory to help meet the growing demand for his shaker is immediately recognizable as Jensen's

work, although it is less elaborate than his tablewares and jewelry. By 1930 he employed

designs of the previous decade. With its sleek, approximately 25o people,2 and at the time of

his death in 1935 the firm had opened retail tapering body, it reflects the growing Modernist

outlets across Europe and in New York. aesthetic of the 1920s, which valued geometry,

architectural profiles, and fitness to purpose.

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50. Centerpiece aircraft engines. Despris's fascination with the

1925/30

machine aesthetic is evident in some of his

Paris, France

1930S work, in which he incorporated forms

Jean Despres (French; i889-98o0)

such as cogwheels, gears, and sprockets.1

Silver-plated metal; h. 21 cm (8'/4 in.)

Despres conceived this centerpiece as Marks: J. Despres incised on underside of foot

a decorative sculpture in its own right. In his

Gift of Mrs. James W. Alsdorf in memory of her

design, he balanced a shallow bowl upon a

husband through the Antiquarian Society,

tall, square stem set into a round base. At the

1991-.II114

point where the stem meets the base, it is flanked

by a bracket on one side and by two spheres on

Jean Despres, a prominent silversmith and the other; with their lightly hammered surfaces,

jeweler who designed both jewelry and table the spheres and the base contrast with the

silver in the Art Deco style, often juxtaposed smoothly polished bowl, bracket, and stem.

strong geometric forms to create bold, mon- Although (like all of Despres's creations) this

umental objects. Born into a family of stained- work is entirely handmade, it manages to evoke,

glass artists, Despris broke with tradition and through its juxtaposition of polished planes and

decided to train as a goldsmith in Paris. There textured surfaces, the contemporary interest

he associated with members of the artistic avant- in the aesthetic and philosophical differences

garde, including painters Georges Braque and between machine manufacture and hand-

smithing. Joan Mir6. During World War I, he worked as

an airplane pilot and subsequently designed

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5I. Serving Wedge

c. 1930

Germany

Hans Przyrembel (German; 1900-1945)

Silver-plated metal (alpacca), ebony;

h. 4.6 cm (I4/5 in.), 1. 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)

Marks: ALPACCA; monogram HP

(for Hans Przyrembel)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Hunter III

through the Antiquarian Society, 1991.115

T his simple wedge, designed to serve such

delicacies as cake or tea sandwiches, tapers

gently to a square toe; at the opposite end,

it curls upward to meet the handle, an upright

ebony disk mounted in a silver ring. The piece

is made from alpacca, an amalgam of metals

developed in the 1920s as a less costly, tarnish- hands, but the person who oversees the process of

resistant alternative to silver. The metal's production in the crafts as well as in industry, and,

dimpled surface was achieved by hand ham- by means of this supervision and direction is in a

mering with silversmiths' tools. position to influence the design of the product.'

This is the work of Hans Przyrembel, a

little-known silver designer who in 1924 enrolled Pryzrembel's contemporaries in metal-

at the Bauhaus, one of the most important design work included Marianne Brandt and Christian

laboratories in the first half of the twentieth Dell.2 In 1926 Brandt and Przyrembel designed

century. Founded in I919 at Weimar, Germany, an adjustable ceiling light; manufactured by

under the direction of the architect Walter the Berlin firm Schwintzer and Graff around

Gropius, the Bauhaus sought to dissolve the 1928, it was one of the few Bauhaus inven-

distinctions between fine and applied arts. tions that successfully made the transition from

The school emphasized architecture as its prototype to production. Most Bauhaus cre-

central focus of instruction but, as the 1920S ations exist only in the form of unique, hand-

wore on, came to focus increasingly on making wrought prototypes or limited, experimental

prototypes of functional objects as models for production runs. The principles that informed

industrial production. Bauhaus metalwork-an emphasis on geome-

The Bauhaus metalwork studios, under try and volumetric design, an industrial or

the direction of LUiszl6 Moholy-Nagy, were an mechanical appearance, and the elimination of

especially vibrant component of the curricu- ornament if it had no bearing on function-

lum. Of Moholy-Nagy, Wilhelm Lotz, a con- proved impractical if not matched by a gen-

uine understanding of industrial machinery temporary art critic, wrote:

and standardization.

I think [that Moholy-Nagy] has in mind an

entirely different idea of the definition of "crafts-

man," not the craftsman who produces with his

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n the years between the two world wars,

Swedish silver was dominated by Baron

Eric Fleming's work for Atelier Borgila, the

firm he founded in Stockholm in 1919.1 Trained

in mechanical engineering and architecture in

Germany, Fleming took up the tools of the

silversmith upon his return to Stockholm, and

thereafter devoted himself to his craft. Atelier

Borgila specializes in hand-wrought silver of

elegant form and design, and was patronized

by the Swedish royal family, the nobility, and

a sophisticated upper-middle class. To mark the

1932 wedding of Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden

and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,

the atelier received its most important commis-

sion from the Swedish government, a silver table

service of more than eight hundred pieces that

became known as the "National Wedding Gift."

With the success of this commission, Fleming

was designated Court Silversmith to His Majesty

the King.2

Fleming's work of the 1930s, generally

considered his most original, is characterized by

52.Canister for Cigarettes

the use of geometric forms; surfaces polished 1937

Stockholm, Sweden to a brilliant sheen; and ornament restricted to

the foot, finial, or neck of the object. With its

1894-1954)

simple, cylindrical shape and spare decoration,

Made by Atelier Borgila

the Art Institute's cigarette canister is a lumi-

Silver; h. 11.i cm (4 3/8 in.), diam. (base)

nous example of Fleming's i930s aesthetic. It is

7 cm (23/4 in.)

Marks: BORGILA struck within rectangular striking for its flawlessly polished surfaces-

reserve; L 8 within rectangular reserve (for 1937); the product of countless hours of hand finish-

STERLING within rectangular reserve; crowned

ing-and for its extremely restrained orna-

female head within circle (for Stockholm); three

ment, which consists only of undulating silver

crowns within lobed cartouche and S within

wire sandwiched between the moldings at the

hexagonal reserve (for Sweden)

foot, and within the upright ring that forms

Gift of Mrs. Eric Oldberg through the

the finial.

Antiquarian Society. 1991.306

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53. The Triumph of Silenus work on a relatively small scale in marble or

c. 166o

ivory, and combined an almost painterly feel

Paris, France

for flow with a precise gouging of hard mater-

Gerard van Opstal (Flemish; I6o0-i668)

ial. Even though he executed his work in low

Marble; w. 38 cm (IS in.), h. 58 cm (23 in.)

relief, van Opstal achieved a sense of animation

Restricted gifts of Mrs. Eloise W. Martin and

and texture by opposing polished and matte

Mrs Edward J. Uihlein through the Antiquarian

surfaces within a panel.

Society, Mrs. DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr., and

The subject of this relief, the Triumph of

Mrs. Frederick K. Krehbiel; Major Acquisitions

Silenus, enjoyed great popularity in northern Centennial, Jane B. Tripp, and Mr. and Mrs.

Joseph Varley endowments; through prior acqui- Europe at this time. A rural god of Greek myth-

sitions of the Kate S. Buckingham Endowment,

ology, Silenus was portrayed as a fat, jolly old

1997.89

drunkard who was nevertheless wise and pro-

phetic. He, along with satyrs and maenads, is

rained in his native Brussels, Gerard van often shown in the retinue of Bacchus, the god

Opstal was called to work in France by of wine, for whose education he was responsi-

Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of state ble. Here Silenus appears unsteadily mounted

to Louis XIII (r. 1610-43). Working in Paris, on an ass; one young man supports him while

he was awarded numerous commissions for another pulls the beast and trumpets his arrival;

decorative carving throughout the city, notably a nymph crowns him with a wreath. In the left

in the Louvre, the Tuileries gardens, and vari- foreground, the winged Cupid tugs at drapes to

ous grand homes. Van Opstal's individual style reveal a nymph whose well-formed body par-

blends a full-blown Baroque aesthetic, epito- odies and perhaps arouses the corpulent

mized by the paintings of his countryman Peter Silenus. To the right, four youngsters wrestle

Paul Rubens, with the more classical sensibility a ram, mimicking the adult group behind

advocated by his teacher, the sculptor Jacques them, while other children pluck grapes from

Sarazin. Van Opstal carved much of his best vines in the background.

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54. Bust of Anne Marie Louise

Thomas de Domageville de

Serilly

1780

Paris, France

Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

Marble; h. (including plinth) 89.9 cm (35 '4 in.)

Inscription: signed and dated HO UDON E

i78o on under-cut of left shoulder

Through prior acquisitions of the George E

Harding Collection; the Lacy Armour, Harry

and Maribel G. Blum Foundation, Richard T.

Crane, Jr., and European Decorative Arts

Purchase endowments; Eloise W Martin and

European Decorative Arts Purchase funds;

restricted gifts of the Woman's Board in honor

of Gloria Gottlieb and Mrs. Eric Oldberg;

through prior acquisitions of Robert Allerton,

the Antiquarian Society through the J. S. Landon

Fund, Mary and Leigh Block, Mr. and Mrs.

Robert Andrew Brown, Miss Janet Falk, Brooks

and Hope B. McCormick, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph

Regenstein, Sr., Mrs. Florene Schoenborn, and the

Solomon A. Smith Charitable Trust, 1996.79

Jean Antoine Houdon was the greatest por-

Van Opstal's sources reflect the emerging trait sculptor of the eighteenth century and,

classical orientation of French art. Roman sar- in fact, ranks as one of the greatest portraitists

cophagi featuring the "Indian Triumph of in marble of all time. He had an eye for the

Bacchus" (in which Silenus figured) or Roman essential nature of the individual, and his del-

statues depicting Silenus and Bacchus were well icate touch enabled him to capture his sitters'

known to artists and patrons with an interest in expression and personality in their most sub-

ancient culture. Paintings by Rubens and his tle states. The economic circumstances of the

followers also furnished important models.' Revolutionary period in France reduced the

The subject's apparent vogue was fueled by its number of large-scale commissions available,

underlying moral ambiguity. Silenus's unbri- and obliged Houdon to concentrate on por-

dled pursuit of pleasure might appear to be trait busts for his livelihood. His talent served

corrupt, but it can also be assigned a positive an extraordinary range of clients, including

value: Renaissance philosophers from the the philosophes of the Enlightenment, royals

Platonist Marsilio Ficino to the essayist Michel and nobles in France and throughout Europe,

de Montaigne argued that, in states of ecstasy, and the founding fathers of the United States of

bliss becomes indistinguishable from goodness. America. His career spanned the years 1756 to

While we may not agree with this stance, it is 1814, but he reached the height of his creative

easy to see how this image of redeemable rev- power in the I770s and I780s. In these transi-

elry would have found wide appeal. tional years, when the Rococo style was sup-

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planted by Neoclassicism, Houdon's work

often combined the fluidity and exuberance of

the first and the ideal simplification of the latter.

One of Houdon's most attractive subjects

was Louise de Sdrilly, celebrated for her beauty

and remembered for the disastrous circum-

stances she endured during the French Revo-

lution. Cultivated in arts and letters, at age

seventeen she married a cousin twice her age.

By 1791, when Paris had become dangerous

for aristocrats, the family withdrew to their

country estate, where they were arrested. Her

husband was executed, but Louise was spared

the guillotine, and spent the rest of the Terror

in impoverished circumstances until she mar-

ried Franqois de Pange in 1796. Her second

husband perished of consumption six months

later, however, and her third, General Anne

Pierre de Montesquiou-Fezensac, was killed

by smallpox in 1798. Louise, too, contracted

the disease, and died the following year at age

thirty-four.

In light of Sdrilly's troubled life, it is poi-

gnant to witness the confidence and charm

that Houdon captures in his portrait.' Most

likely completed a year after her first marriage,

it would have at once celebrated that occasion

and served as a means through which the new- 55. Portrait Bust of a Woman

Roman

lywed couple established their taste and dec-

Antonine Period, 138-92

orated their Parisian mansion. A ribbon draws

Marble; h. 62 cm (24'3/16 in.)

the sitter's hair away from her forehead, gath-

Restricted gifts of the Antiquarian Society in

ering it into five tight curls that hang from the

honor of Ian Wardropper, the Classical Art

back, and flowing locks that fall forward over

Society, Mr. and Mrs. Isak V. Gerson, James and

her shoulders. Thick drapery wraps her torso,

Bonnie Pritchard, and Mrs. Hugo Sonnenschein;

revealing her left shoulder and a beribboned

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Bro Fund; Katherine K.

lace bodice. The subject radiates poise and self- Adler, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Alexander in honor

of Ian Wardropper, David Earle III, William A. assurance, and gives the impression of a keen

intellect. Madame de Sdrilly's head retains the and Renda H. Lederer Family, Chester D. Tripp

and Jane B. Tripp endowments, 2002.11

freshness and movement of the Rococo, but

her distant gaze and tightly restrained silhou-

ette indicate that the sculptor's artistic bent was

shifting toward Neoclassicism.

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FIGURE I

city, which would have been lavishly adorned

Side view showing the

with statues of gods, heroes, and historical subjects elaborate coiffure.

figures.

While the subject's elaborate hairstyle and

heavily lidded eyes recall those of Faustina the

Elder, the matronly wife of Emperor Antoninus

Pius (r. 138-61), her youthful physiognomy

suggests she is a private individual emulating

imperial style. Perhaps she was the wife of a

wealthy senator, merchant, or landowner; her

fashionable hairdo, intricate diadem, and the

fine fabric of her clothing identify her as a

woman of considerable means. She looks to

the left, which affords a tantalizing glimpse of

her complex coiffure. Thick tresses flow over

her forehead and around her face in scalloped

waves, each strand articulated separately. Deli-

cate curls fall over her ears and wispy tendrils

cascade down the nape of her neck; long, flat

T his exquisite tessential privileged Roman matron. Fash- portrait bust depicts the quin- plaits are coiled in an ascending spiral, form-

ioned from a fine-grained, cool gray marble, it ing a heavy bun on the crown of her head,

has developed a creamy patina over time.' The while a single braid is drawn up the back of

the bun and tucked into its top. The intricate piece was carved during the Antonine Period

diadem around her head is held in place by a (138-92), when the Roman empire was at the

height of its peace, prosperity, and extent. As thick cord meant to suggest fabric. With

a sculptural type, portrait busts originally a crescent-shaped dip above a single, broadly

evolved from commemorative wax masks of elliptical gem or pearl, it evokes an original

ancestors that Romans customarily carried in that would have been fashioned of gold and

funeral processions and displayed in house- set with precious stones. Squares representing

hold shrines. Although they retained their emeralds are intermingled with scrolling ten-

memorial function, in time they were also drils along its length.

used to honor the living. The convention of The woman's slender face is no less remark-

representing the sitter's shoulders and upper able, with high cheekbones, an elegant nose, and

torso emerged in the early second century large, round eyes that direct a regal gaze into the

A.D., when it also became common for a rec- distance. The separately incised hairs of her

tangular plate to separate the bust from the broad eyebrows, which dip over the bridge of

socle, or flaring, marble base, supporting it. her nose, are long and widely spaced. Her chin

Since the reverse of this bust is not so finely is strong, her jaw line firm, and her slender

neck features three subtle rolls of flesh, or smoothed, it was probably made to be placed

"Venus rings," which Romans considered within a niche, where it could be viewed from

the front and sides (see fig. i).2 It may have highly attractive. The sitter's crisply pleated,

been displayed in the foyer of a private home or gap-sleeved tunic is held with a single fastener

visible at her right shoulder, and the sheer fab- in a public gathering place in a major Roman

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ric of its neckline is so thinly carved that light

passes through the marble. For modesty's

sake, her tunic is covered by a mantle; its deep

folds suggest a thick fabric, probably wool.

Draped low across her torso, the mantle reveals

the gentle swell of her right breast.

Although portraiture is one of Rome's

greatest contributions to the visual arts and one

of the empire's most enduring legacies, the

names of its practitioners remain unknown.

Here a masterful sculptor, using the simple

tools of a stone mason and a deft hand, trans-

formed a hard block of cold marble into a

portrait that captures the noble serenity and

timeless beauty of his subject. His name may

be lost, but this superb sculpture survives as an

enduring testament to his extraordinary talent.

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40. The four objects from the Guelph Treasure are a circular monstrance with a relic 7. Gaming Set, pp. 31-33.

of Saint Christine (1962.90); a reliquary with a tooth of John the Baptist in a Fatimid i. The box was published as part of the Hermitage's collection in Sergei Nikolayevich

crystal vessel (1962.91); the Veltheim Cross (1962.92); and a pyx, or container for Troinitzki, Tabatiares en porcelaine t L'Ermitage imperial (St. Petersburg, 1915).

Eucharistic wafers (1962.93). While these remain unpublished, the Silver Standard 2. The box appeared in a full-page advertisement for the London jeweler Wartski;

Cross (1931.263) appears in The Antiquarian Society of The Art Institute of Chicago: see "From the Imperial Hermitage," Connoisseur 97 (June 1936), p. I7.

The First One Hundred Years (note 6), cat. no. 319, ill. 3. See Edmund Wilhelm Braun, "Alt-Wiener Porzellane in der Kaiserlichen.

41. A 1925 bylaw amendment added "education" to the Antiquarians' original mission. Eremitage zu St.-Petersbourg," Kunst und Kunsthandwerk 18 (I914), pp. 30-51; and

42. Rich first suggested that the Antiquarians buy furniture of the Italian Renaissance. Sergei Nikolayevich Troinitzki, "Galerie de porcelaines l'Ermitage Imperial,"

This idea quickly proved unworkable, as genuine pieces were rare and prices prohibitive. Starye Gody (May 1911), pp. 3-28.

43. For an informal account of the society's decision to "collect American," see three

interviews of Mrs. C. Phillip Miller conducted between Apr. 24, 1984, and Mar. 4, 1985, 8. Oval Tureen, pp. 33-34.

Oral History Transcripts, AIC Archives. i. Quoted in Natalia Kasakewitsch, "Zaren Service," in Katharina Hantschmann,

44. In 1922 the Antiquarians sponsored a show that included colonial costumes bor- Du Paquier contra Meissen: Friihe Wiener Porzellanservice, exh. cat. (Munich, 1994),

rowed from the leading families of Salem, Massachusetts; see "Antiquarian Society," pp. 57-60. I am grateful to Inge Neumann, volunteer in the Department of European

Bulletin of The Art Institute of Chicago 16, I (Jan./Feb. 1922), p. 15. In 1926 an Decorative Arts, for providing me with a translation of this article.

Antiquarian committee, working with Bessie Bennett, put together an exhibition of 2. Francesco Stazzi, "L'itinerario di una Zuppiera," I Quaderni dell'emilceramica 24

early American furniture with important loans from The Metropolitan Museum of

(Mar. 1996), pp. 3-5-

Art, New York. See "Temporary Exhibitions, May-July," The Art Institute of

Chicago: Forty-Eighth Annual Report For the Year 1926 (Chicago, 1927) p. 44. 9. Oil and Vinegar Cruet, pp. 35-36.

45. This tankard (1943.1) was published in The Antiquarian Society of The Art I. Kandler's work on this centerpiece is detailed in his work records in the Meissen

Institute of Chicago: The First One Hundred Years (note 6), cat. no. 175, ill.

archives. Documented in part, they were most recently published in Ulrich Pietsch,

ed., Arbeitshberichte: Des Meissener Porzellanmodelleurs Johann Joachim Kaendler

1706-1775 (Leipzig, 2002), pp. 48-49.

Hilliard, "Robert Allerton," p. 13. 2. Quoted in W. B. Honey, Dresden China: An Introduction to the Study of Meissen

1. The panel, which was from a chest, was acquired in 1912 and later withdrawn from Porcelain (London, 1934), p. 10I.

the collection.

2. Mildred Davison, interviewed by Evelyn Willbanks and Mary Janzen, Mar. 12, 1984, 10. Salt Cellars, p. 36.

Oral History Transcript, AIC Archives.

1. I am grateful to Antoinette Fay-Halle, director of the Mus6e National de

C6ramique, Shvres, for bringing this currently unpublished salt cellar to my atten-

tion and allowing me to examine it.

Zelleke, "An Embarrassment of Riches," pp. 22-89.

2. See Juste Aurile Meissonier, Oeuvre de uste Aurile Meissonnier: Peintre, sculp-

1. Tea Service for Two, pp. 24-25. teur, architecte &c dessinateur de la chambre et cabinet du roy (Paris, 1735).

1. See Hans Boeckh, "Barocke Lyrik im Bild oder wie Cupido zum Tee kam

... Beobachtungen zum Schmelzfarbendekor an Augsburger Teeservicen," Kunst 11. Figure of the Buddhist Disciple Gama Sennin, pp. 37-38.

und Antiquititen 12 (1992), pp. 54-59, for a discussion of these prints and their rela- i. I wish to thank the French Porcelain Society, London, for allowing me to publish

tion to enameled tea services, including the set now in the Art Institute. this extract from a forthcoming article. See Ghenete Zelleke, "A Singular Saint-

2. Illustrated in Boeckh (note I), p. 55, fig. 4; Eva Maria Link, Die Landgrizfliche Cloud Figure in the Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago," French Porcelain

Kunstkammer Kassel: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel (Kassel, 1975), pp. 28-30, ; Society 18 (forthcoming, 2002).

and Helmut Seling, Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede, 1529-1868: Meister, 2. See Wolfram Eberhard, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, trans. G. L. Campbell

Marken, Werke (Munich, i980), vol. I, pl. 16.

(London, 1986), pp. 292-93; and C. A. S. Williams, Outlines of Chinese Symbolism

and Art Motives, 3d ed. (New York, 1976), pp. 401-403.

2-3. Spoon and Ladle, p. 26. 3. I am grateful to my Art Institute colleagues Stephen Little, former Pritzker Curator

i. Timothy Arthur Kent, London Silver Spoonmakers, 1500oo to 1697 (London, 1981), of Asian Art; Bernd Jesse, former Associate Curator of Asian Art; and Edward M.

P- 49. Horner, Executive Vice-President for Development, for introducing me to the three-

2. Philippa Glanville, Silver in England (London, 1987), p. 87. legged toad and its association with Liu Hai.

3. Arthur G. Grimwade, London Goldsmiths 1697-1837: Their Marks and Lives 4. See, for example, Stephen Little, Taoism and the Arts of China, exh. cat. (Chicago,

from the Original Registers at Goldsmiths' Hall and Other Stories (London, 1976), p. 2000), cat. no. 124, color ill.

585- 5. European pottery and porcelain factories at Meissen, St. Cloud, and elsewhere

commonly copied Chinese blanc-de-chine figures of Putai or Budai, the smiling, fat-

4. Coffee Pot, pp. 27-28. bellied god of happiness and good fortune. The Japanese connection was first

I. Gisela Haase and Monkia Kopplin contributed much to the analysis of Martin brought to my attention through the work of Filip Suchomel; see Filip Suchomel

Schnell's work and the correspondence between lacquered furniture and BGttger and Marcela Suchomelovi, Masterpieces ofJapanese Porcelain, trans. Linda Paukertovi

stoneware. See, for example, Monika Kopplin, "Chrysanthemen am Ostazun und and Gita Zbavitelovi, exh. cat. (Prague, 1997), PP- 18-22.

andere ostasiatische Motive in der Dresdner Lackmalerei," Jahrbuch der Staatlichen 6. For a discussion of rakan and their attributes, see Merrily Baird, Symbols of apan:

Kunstsammlungen Dresden 28 (2000), pp. 47-55- Thematic Motifs in Art and Design (New York, 2ooi), pp. 193-97.

2. See, for example, the Turkish-inspired B6ttger stoneware coffee pot from the 7. In addition to being found at Mnichovo Hradiste Castle in the Czech Republic, a

pair of related figures reside in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence; one is in the Residenz, Hans Syz collection in Hans Syz, J. Jefferson Miller II, and Rainer Riickert, Catalog

of the Hans Syz Collection (Washington, D.C., 1979), vol. I, cat. no. 12, ill. Munich; and two more are in the collection at Erddig House, a National Trust prop-

erty in Wales. Those in Florence and Munich are apparently unpublished; the latter

are illustrated in John Ayers, Oliver Impey, and J. V. G. Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces: 5. Teapot, pp. 29-30.

The Fashion for Japan in Europe, 1650-1750, exh. cat. (London, 1990), cat no. 157, i. These drawings are reproduced in Das Meissener Musterbuch fiir H6roldt-

color ill. Chinoiserien (Munich, 1978).

8. I am grateful to Leon J. Dalva of Dalva Brothers, New York, for allowing me to

examine two figures from his private collection. He freely shared his insights into the 6. Teapot, pp. 30-31.

meaning of his Japanese figures, both of which he identified as Gama Sennin.

i. The correspondence between this print by Petrus Schenk the Younger and the

imagery on one side of the teapot was first noted by Rita McCarthy, former research

12. Winter, pp. 38-39. assistant in European Decorative Arts at the Art Institute, at the time the teapot was

1. Upon the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici, the last Medici grand duke, Ginori purchased by the museum in 1987.

led a delegation to Vienna to pay respects to the new grand duke and duchess of 2. For a discussion of the print collections assembled at Meissen, for example, see

Florence, Emperor Franz Stefan and Empress Maria Teresa of Austria. Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, "Graphic Sources for Meissen Porcelain: Origins of the

2. This information was kindly provided by Henry Hawley, Curator of Renaissance Print Collection in the Meissen Archives," Metropolitan Museum Journal 31 (1996),

and Later Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Cleveland Museum of Art. pp. 99-126.

3. I wish to thank Oliva Rucellai, director of the Museo Richard-Ginori della Manifat-

tura di Doccia, Sesto Fiorentino, for showing me these panels and sharing her thoughts

on the production of the Four Seasons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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17. Table Centerpiece, pp. 44-45. 4. The porcelain produced at Doccia during the first decades of the factory's exis-

tence was subject to firing cracks and other technical difficulties, which were espe- i. For more information on the decoration of the dessert table, see, for example,

cially evident in large-scale sculptures and complex reliefs. The porcelain was grayish Peter B. Brown and Ivan Day, Pleasures of the Table: Ritual and Display in the

white in color, and lightly flecked with brown spots caused by the presence of iron in European Dining Room, 1600-1900, exh. cat. (York, 1997); and Selma Schwartz, "

the paste. The glaze used at that time imparted a thin, green-gray skin that was often A Feast for the Eyes: 18th Century Documents for the Creation of a Dessert Table,"

matte in appearance. Handbook of the International Ceramics Fair and Seminar (London, 2000), pp.

28-35.

13. Mourning Madonna, p. 40.

18. Plate, p. 46. i. For more on the history of Nyphenburg and Bustelli's figural work, see Friedrich

i. The Arabesque Service is itemized in the Sevres sales registers for December 2, H. Hofmann, Geschichte der bayerischen Porzellan-Manufaktur Nymphenburg, 3

vols. (Leipzig, 1921-23); Rainer Riuckert, Franz Anton Bustelli (Munich, 1963); and 1795, when it was given to von Hardenberg; see Manufacture National de Sivres,

Archives, Vy' 12 fol. 72 vo. Of the one hundred four pieces listed, fifty-one were Alfred Ziffer, Nymphenburger Porzellan: Sammlung Biuml, exh. cat. (Stuttgart,

plates valued at five different prices from 525 to 900 livres, which probably indicated 1997).

increasingly complex painted and gilt decoration. Of these fifty-one plates, only four

have been identified to date; in addition to the Art Institute's example, two others 14. Bust of Louis, Dauphin of France, pp. 41-42.

have appeared on the London art market, the latter of which differs from Chicago's 1. The terms of the royal privilege granted in July 1745 to the porcelain manufactory

example in its lack of gilding and its circular well. See London, Sotheby's, English at Vincennes, the precursor to S&vres, included the rights to make porcelain in the

and Continental Ceramics and Glass, sale cat. (June 4, 1996: lot no. 53), color ill.; and "fagon Saxe peinte et dorne I figure humaine." As quoted in Svend Eriksen and

idem, The Hector Binney Collection, sale cat. (Dec. 5, 1989: lot no. 136), color ill. The Geoffrey de Bellaigue, Sivres Porcelain: Vincennes and Sivres, 1740-1800 (London,

fourth plate, in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. 4530-

1987), p. 30.

2. For more on this Sevres biscuit bust of the dauphin, see Ghenete Zelleke, "A 1857), also lacks gilding, and is painted with birds, children, and foliage around the

rim; see Marcelle Brunet and Tamara Priaud, Sevres: Des Origines i nos jours Posthumous Sevres Biscuit Bust of Louis, Dauphin of France, 1766," in M6langes en

(Fribourg, 1978), p. 211, fig. 260. souvenir d'Elisalex d'Albis, 1939-1998 (Paris, 1999), pp. 86-91.

3. Figures had been made at Vincennes since the late I740s in a clear-glazed porcelain

that was either left white or decorated with polychrome enamels; see, for example, the 19. Covered Bowl and Stand, pp. 47-48.

figure of a river god or Neptune (c. 1748) in the Art Institute's collection (1993.350). i. The Art Institute has another piece of Slvres decorated with "Etruscan figures,"

This transparent glaze, however, sometimes obscured the sharply modeled details of a kettle for boiling water, known as a bouillotte Chine, or Chinese kettle (1998.

the figures, and so was born the idea of unglazed porcelain. 517a-b). Of a slightly flattened ovoid shape, the kettle is entirely covered in imitation

lacquer, richly overlaid with a gold, friezelike procession of classical figures. 4. Sevres sculptor Florent Nicolas Perrotin finished six versions, his colleague Jean

Baptiste Leclerc nine; see Manufacture National de Sevres, Archives, F 8. Only two 2. Pierre Ennes, "The Visit of the Comte and Comtesse du Nord to the Slvres

other busts of the dauphin have been identified: one (on a replacement stand) is in the Manufactory," Apollo 129, 325 (Mar. 1989), pp. I5o-56.

collection of the Musee National de Ceramique, Sevres. Another was offered for sale 3. Manufacture National de Skvres, Archives, Vj' 3, fol. 217.

in Paris several years ago, along with a biscuit bust of Louis XV. They are published 4. Bernard Dragesco of Dragesco-Cramoisan, Paris, has suggested this possibility.

in Connaissance des Arts 351 (Sept. 1996), pp. 44-45. Two other gifts or purchases of I am especially grateful to him for his help in identifying the imagery on this covered

this model are recorded on June 13, 1782. A bust of the dauphin was part of a large bowl and stand.

gift of porcelain from Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to Russia's future czar Paul I

and his wife, Maria Fedorovna. On December 12, 1788, a second bust was sold to a 20. Sauce Tureen on Stand, pp. 48-49.

member of the French parliamentary nobility, a Monsieur de Nicolai. Present i. One of the four sauce tureens is illustrated in Edmund Wilhelm Braun, Das

whereabouts of both of these busts are unknown. Tafelsilber des Herzogs Albert von Sachsen-Teschen (Vienna, 1910), pl. 6c. I am grate-

ful to Dr. John Batzel for bringing this publication to my attention.

15. Footed Tray, p. 42.

1. For more on this service, see Dorothie Guilleme Brulon, "Les Services de porce- 21. Sugar Bowl, pp. 49-50.

laine de Sivres, prisents des rois Louis XV et Louis XVI aux souveraines etrangers," 1. George Edwards, A Natural History of Birds, 4 vols. (London, 1743-51). For

in Versailles et les tables royales en Europe XVIIkme-XIXkme si&cles, exh. cat. (Paris, more on the Sevres objects painted after Edwards's birds, see Ghenete Zelleke, "From

1993), PP. 184-87, 334-35. Chantilly to Shvres: French Porcelain and the Dukes of Richmond," French Porcelain

2. This conflict (1756-63) was sparked by Austria's attempt to recover Silesia, a

Society 7 (I99I), pp. 1-14.

wealthy province seized for Prussia by Frederick the Great in i740; it also came to 2. See Georges Louis Leclerc, count of Buffon, Natural History, General and Par-

involve the military and colonial ambitions of rivalrous England and France. ticular, 3d ed., trans. William Smellie, intro. Aaron V. Garret (Bristol, 2ooo).

3. For more on the Hofburg pieces, see Versailles et les tables royales en Europe 3. For a similarly decorated cup and saucer, see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, "Shvres at

XVIIeme-XIXeme siecles (note I), cat. nos. 274-86. Woburn Abbey," Apollo 127, 316 (June 1988), p. 423, fig. 8. Another cup and saucer,

dated 1781, is in the British Royal Collection.

16. Dessert Plate, pp. 43-44.

i. See Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Sevres Porcelain (Lon- 22. Pair of Ice-Cream Coolers, pp. 50-51.

don, 1988), vol. 2, pp. 762-82, for a comprehensive discussion of this service. i. Pierre d'Hancarville, Collection of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman Antiquities from

2. Letter from Prince Grigori Potemkin to the Russian ambassador to France, the Cabinet of the Honble Wm. Hamilton (Naples, 1768-76), vol. I, p. vi.

Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Bariatinsky, as quoted by Kira Butler, "Slvres for the 2. These ice-cream coolers were exhibited at the David and Alfred Smart Museum of

Imperial Court," Apollo lot, 16o (June 1975), p. 454, who cites A. Prakhov, Album of Art, University of Chicago, in 1992; see Ingrid D. Rowland and Craig Hanson, The

the Historical Exhibition of Works of Art in Russia (St. Petersburg, 1907), p. 30. Place of the Antique in Early Modern Europe, exh. cat. (Chicago, I999), cat. no. 48, ill.

3. Savill (note 1), 765-66, proposed that the cameos were based on those in the cabi-

net du roi.

24-26. Side Chairs, Armchair, pp. 53-54.

4. See Geoffrey de Bellaigue, The Louis XVI Service (Cambridge, 986), pp. 83, 90o,

1. As quoted in Linda Chase and Karl Kemp, The World of Biedermeier (New York,

for an identification of these vignettes within a larger discussion of the Louis XVI

2001), p. 129.

service, which the French king commissioned in 1783. Many of the scenes painted as 2. For a discussion of bentwood furniture, see Ghenete Zelleke, Eva Ottillinger, and

cameos and bas-reliefs on the service for Catherine were repeated as larger, poly- Nina Stritzler-Levine, Against the Grain: Bentwood Furniture from the Collection of

chrome reserves in that made for Louis XVI.

Fern and Manfred Steinfeld, exh. cat. (Chicago, 1993).

5. Part of the service was arranged on a banquet table set in the eighteenth-century

manner in a 1993 exhibition at the Musee National des Chkteaux de Versailles et de

27. Pair of Side Chairs, pp. 55-56.

Trianon; see Versailles et les tables royales en Europe XVIIeme-XIXeme siecles, exh.

i. Other pieces from this suite can be found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

cat. (Paris, 1993), pp. 241, 322-27.

New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. For the former, see

6. Other collections with items from this service include the Wallace Collection and

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Recent Acquisitions: A Selection,

the British Museum, London. The former are illustrated in Savill (note i), the latter in

1986-1987 (New York, 1987), p. 2, color ill. The latter is published in Gillian Wilson

Aileen Dawson, A Catalogue of French Porcelain in the British Museum (London,

and Catherine Hess, Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul

1994), cat. no. 121.

Getty Museum (Los Angeles, 2001I), cat. no. 427, color ill.

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2. For example, an armchair in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 36. Side Table, pp. 66-67.

had remnants of old upholstery on the chair back and seat; these were determined, i. London's Savoy Hotel, which Mackmurdo designed with Herbert Home in 1889,

after close examination, to be the original upholstery for the suite. still stands in the Strand.

2. As quoted in William Morris Gallery, Catalogue ofA. H. Mackmurdo and the 3. The Antiquarian Society generously funded the substantial cost of the fabric and trim,

as well as the labor-intensive work of reupholstery. Century Guild Collection (London, 1967), P. viii.

3. A table similar to the Art Institute's stood in the hall of Pownall Hall, Cheshire, a

country house that was partially designed and furnished by the Century Guild, and 28. Octagonal Library Table, pp. 56-57.

constituted the group's most important commission. See T. Raffles Davison, i. One of these tables resides in the collection of Temple Newsam House in Leeds; see

"A Modern Country Home," Art Journal 43 (Nov. I89I), pp. 329-35, ill. Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall: A

Catalogue of the Leeds Collection (Leeds, 1978), cat. no. 395, ill. Others are in the col-

lections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Duke of Norfolk at 38-39. Coffee Pot, Decanter, pp. 69-70.

Carlton Towers, Yorkshire. See, respectively, London, Christie's, Fine English Furni- i. For illustrations of this and other decanters, see Alan Crawford, C. R. Ashbee:

ture, sale cat. (Apr. 20, 1978: lot no.29), color ill.; and John M. Robinson, "Carlton and Architect, Designer & Romantic Socialist (New Haven, 1985), fig. 166, pl. 12.

Stapletons: The History of a Recusant Family," Connoisseur 202 (Sept. 1979), p. 21, ill. 2. Ibid., p. 331. This passage was also cited in Ellenor M. Alcorn, English Silver in

2. For more on Baldock, see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, "Edward Holmes Baldock," the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, 2000ooo), vol. 2, p. 302, in her discussion of an

Connoisseur 189 (Aug. I975), pp. 290-99; and Connoisseur 19o (Sept. 1975), pp. I8-25. Ashbee decanter (904/o05).

3. Closely related, if not identical, episodes appear on the tables at Temple Newsam 3. C. R. Ashbee, Modern English Silverwork: An Essay (London, 1909), pl. 20.

House, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Carlton Towers (see note i). 4. For another example of Ashbee's silver incorporating the semiprecious stone

4. A tray veneered with floral marquetry similar to that on this table, also set within chrysoprase, see the Art Institute's Loop-Handled Dish of 1902/03 (i985.261), illus-

a Rococo cartouche, appeared on the London art market in 1976 with Asprey & trated in Ghenete Zelleke, "Omar Ramsden and Alwyn Carr: An Arts and Crafts

Company, London. It bore the handwritten label "Manufactured by R. Blake, 8 Collaboration," The Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 18, 2 (1992), p. 171,

Stephen Street, Tottenham Court Road." On the basis of this and other comparisons fig. 3-

with marquetry by Blake, Martin Levy of H. Blairman & Son, London, attributed

this table to Blake at the time of its sale to the Art Institute in 1987; see files of the 41. Coffee Service, pp. 72-73.

Department of European Decorative Arts, The Art Institute of Chicago. i. For illustrations of Sika's other work,which consists essentially of variations on

the shapes and decoration of this coffee service, see Waltraud Neuwirth, Osterre-

29. Sideboard and Wine Cabinet, pp. 57-59. ichische Keramik desJugendstils: Sammlung des Osterreichischen Museums fir

I. Architectural Exhibition 9 (London, 1859), p. 32, cat. no. 19. Angewandte Kunst, Wien (Munich, 1974), Pp. 266-71.

2. It was also in the Medieval Court that William Morris and his collaborators

Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti first showed their own examples of 42-43. Demitasse and Saucer, Pitcher, pp. 74-75.

Gothic painted furniture. I. To learn more about the artists colony in Darmstadt, see Renate Ullmer, Museum

3. See Achille Jubinal, "Le Martyre de saint Baccus," Nouveau recueil de contes, dits, Kiinstlerkolonie Darmstadt (Darmstadt, 1989).

fabliaux, et autrespikces infdites des 13, 14, 15me sitcles (Paris, 1839), pp. 25o-65. 2. Curt Stoeving, "Kunst dem Volke," Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration ii (Mar. 1903),

p. 257, n. 3o, as cited by Laurie A. Stein, "German Design and National Identity 1890-

30. Vase (Vase feuille d'eau), pp. 59-60. 1914," in Wendy Kaplan, ed., Designing Modernity: The Arts of Reform and Persuasion,

i. The original French is "Tentation et oracle." See Manufacture National de Sivres, 1885-1945: Selections from the Wolfsonian, exh. cat. (New York, 1995), p. 63.

Archives, Vr' le serie, no. 1, fol. 84. 3. A chair from this dining room is also in the Art Institute's collection (I993.157).

2. For an illustration of the reverse of Chicago's vase, see The Art Journal Illustrated

Catalogue of the International Exhibition, 1862 (London, 1862; reprint, London, 44. Plate, pp. 75-76.

1973), p. 249. i. In the early i88os, van de Velde trained as a painter in Paris, first at the Ecole des

3. The Art ournal Illustrated Catalogue of the International Exhibition, 1862 (note 2). Beaux-Arts and then in the studio of Charles Pmile Auguste Carolus Duran; he later

4. Manufacture National de Stvres, Archives, Vbb 12, fol. 35, no. 2-35. came under the influence of William Morris. In 1895 he built his own house near

Brussels, designing it and its interior furnishings in the Art Nouveau style. One year

31. Drawing-Room Cabinet, pp. 60-61. later, he created model rooms for Siegfried Bing's Paris shop La Maison de L'Art

I. Talbert extended his influence through publications such as Gothic Forms: Nouveau, which lent the style its name.

Applied to Furniture, Metal Work and Decoration for Domestic Purposes

(Birmingham/London, 1867) and Examples of Ancient & Modern Furniture, Metal 45. Tea and Coffee Service, pp. 76-77.

Work, Tapestries, Decorations (London, 1876). i. Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, "The Work-Programme of the Wiener

2. For more information concerning Ramsden and the Gillow firm's work for him, Werkseitte" (I905), repr. in Tim Benton, Charlotte Benton, and Dennis Sharp, eds.

see Martin Levy, "Abbots Wood, Barrow-in-Furness: Furniture by Gillow for Sir Architecture and Design, 1890-1939: An International Anthology of Original

James Ramsden," Apollo 137, 376 (June 1993), pp. 384-88. The Art Institute's

Articles (New York, I975), pp. 36-37-

drawing-room cabinet is illustrated as pl. I on p. 385.

3. Abbots Wood no longer exists; it passed out of the Ramsden family, fell into dis- 46. Corner Cabinet, pp. 77-78.

repair, and was demolished in the i960s.

i. Riesener made four corner cabinets for one of the rooms at the Hameau,

Marie Antoinette's rural retreat on the grounds of Versailles; one of these is in the Art

33. Work Table, p. 63.

Institute's collection (1945.-185).

i. Madame Duvinage inherited the business after her husband's death. For more on 2. Several versions of the cupboard were produced for exhibition display and pur-

Maison Giroux and the "mosaic" technique, see Danielle Kisluk-Grosheide, "Maison chase by private clients, as was a variation with four, rather than three, legs. Three-

Giroux and its 'Oriental' Marquetry Technique," Furniture History 35 (1999), pp. 147-72- legged examples include a cabinet (c. 1923) in the Brooklyn Museum, illustrated in

color in Masterpieces in The Brooklyn Museum (New York, 1988), p. I65; and a

34. Vase (Vase d'Arezzo), pp. 64-65. version (c. 1920) in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated in Frederick Brandt,

1. See, for example, the terracotta bust of Bartolom6 Esteban Murillo in the Art Late 19th and Early 20oth Century Decorative Arts: The Sydney and Frances Lewis

Institute's collection (1962.962). Collection in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, 1985), pp. 16o-6i.

2. This particular vase entered the Savres sales room in April I885, valued at 3,700 A four-legged version (1926), at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is

francs. In July 1887, it was sent as a credit sale to the French embassy in Constan- illustrated in Penelope Hunter-Stiebel, "Art Deco and the Metropolitan Museum of

tinople, where it may have been used for decoration, given to a staff member, or pre- Art," Connoisseur I79 (Apr. 1972), p. 274.

sented as a diplomatic gift. See Manufacture National de Sevres, Archives, Vv 9, folio 3. The most comprehensive study of Ruhlmann's life and work is Florence Camard,

215, no. 45; and Vaa 6. Ruhlmann, Master of Art Deco, trans. David Macey (New York, 1984).

3. For more on the complicated development of pte nouvelle, see Frantoise Treppoz, 4. Quoted in Masterpieces in The Brooklyn Museum (note 2), p. I65.

"Naissance de la pite nouvelle h Sivres," Sevres: Revue de la socidtd des amis du

Musee national de cframique 6 (I997), pp. 68-72. 49. Cocktail Shaker, p. 81.

4. An amusing caricature of the artist by Fernand Paillet, another Sfvres employee, i. This service is illustrated in Annelies Krekel-Aalberse, Art Nouveau and Art

depicts the mustachioed Lambert dressed in a kimono; his name is written within the Deco Silver (London, 1989), p. 228, fig. 214.

rectangular nameplate as if the image were a Japanese woodblock print. See

Manufacture National de Sfvres, Archives, R. I89.

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2. Simon Jervis, Facts On File Dictionary of Design and Designers (New York, 1984),

p. 254.

3. The prohibition of alcohol consumption in the United States, which lasted from

1919 to 1933, only served to drive drinking underground.

50. Centerpiece, p. 82.

i. For information on and illustrations of such works, see Melissa Gabardi, Jean

Despres: Maestro orafo tra art deco e avanguardie (Milan, 1999), p. 54-63.

51. Serving Wedge, p. 83.

i. As quoted in Hans M. Wingler, The Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago

(Cambridge, Mass., 1969), p. 135-

2. Dell's silver wine jug (1922), now in the Art Institute's collection (1996.60oa-b), is

a fascinating example of original Bauhaus design. Dell conceived of the jug as a

grouping of geometric shapes, a remarkably early example of the Constructivist aes-

thetic. The absence of ornamentation, simplicity of form, and concentration on

geometry give it a "machine age" appearance, but, like other Bauhaus designs, it was

completely impractical for large, serial production. See Torsten Brohan and Thomas

Berg, Avantgarde Design, 1880-1930 (Cologne, 1994), p. 96.

3. Przyrembel left the Bauhaus around 1928; he eventually worked in Leipzig as an

independent silversmith, and went on to display his work at the 1937 "Exposition

Internationale" in Paris.

52. Canisterfor Cigarettes, p. 84.

i. For more on the work of Atelier Borgila, see Jan von Gerber, Erik Fleming: Atelier

Borgila (Stockholm, 1994).

2. Parts of the royal service were exhibited at the 1933 "Century of Progress Interna-

tional Exposition" in Chicago; examples of Fleming's silver had been included in the

1931 "International Exhibition of Metalwork and Cotton Textiles" that toured muse-

ums in the United States, including the Art Institute.

53. The Triumph of Silenus, pp. 85-86.

i. See, for example, Peter Paul Rubens's Drunken Silenus (1618; Alte Pinakothek,

Munich) and prints by his followers, such as Christophe Jeghers's woodcut Drunken

Silenus in the Art Institute (c. 1635; 1994.Io9).

54. Bust of Anne Marie Louise Thomas de Domageville de Serilly, pp.

86-87.

i. Houdon executed three busts resembling the Art Institute's, each with variations.

One, a plaster painted to look like terracotta, was displayed in the Paris Salon of 1781,

and is now lost. A second, now in the Wallace Collection, London, is dated 1782, and

was shown in the Salon of 1783; see Louis Riau, Houdon: Sa vie et son oeuvre (Paris,

1964), cat no. 64, ill . A third, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, appears to be

a workshop example based on the Art Institute's bust, and is dated 1780.

55. Portrait Bust of a Woman, pp. 87-89.

i. An isotopic and statistical analysis of the marble suggests it is probably Anatolian in

origin; see letter of Mar. 12, 2002, from Norman Herz, Center for Archeological

Studies, University of Georgia, to Barbara Hall, files of the Department of Conser-

vation, The Art Institute of Chicago. The tip of the figure's nose is missing, and there

are several breaks along the edges of the drapery folds. A small restoration can be seen

on the fold below her right breast. There are breaks on the back, and the socle is miss-

ing. The bust was formerly in the collection of Hans von Aulock, Istanbul.

2. The closest stylistic comparisons for this bust are a series of stone portraits carved

during the middle of the second century A.D. They are linked by the exceptional

quality of their craftsmanship; great sensitivity to the character of their imperial and

common subjects; highly detailed treatment of the hair; and similarity in the form of

the plate and socle. For examples, see Klaus Fittschen and Paul Zanker, Katalog der

romischen Portriits in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen

Sammlungen der Stadt Rom (Mainz, i983), pp. 13-27, 67-78, ill.; and Masterpieces of

the J. Paul Getty Museum: Antiquities (Los Angeles, 1997), p. 119, ill.

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